I fnT*
THE
OF
SIR LEONARDTlLLEY
BEING
A POLITICAL HISTORY
OF
NEW -BRUNSWICK
FOE THE PAST SEVENTY YEAKS.
BY
AUTHOH OF A HISTORY OF ACADIA.
ST. JOHN, N. B:
1897.
Entered according to the Act of Parliament of Canada, in the
year one thousand eight hundred and ninety -seven, by
JAMES HANNAY,
at the Department of Agriculture, Ottawa.
CONTENTS.
CHAFIER I.
Birth of Sir Leonard Tilley. Population of New Brunswick in
1818. The Loyalists. Houses of the people. How the
people lived. Cooking arrangements. The crops they pro-
duced. How the people dressed. Furniture of the houses.
Agricultural implements. Wheeled vehicles. The roads
of the Province. Means of travelling. Steamboats. The
General Smyth. Market boats. Packet schooners. Hotels-
Education in a low state. Poorly paid teachers. School
grants. Grammar schools. The college. The Madras
System. Religion. The Church of England. Favored by
the authorities. The tone of society. The official class.
Duelling. The post office. Newspapers. The timber
trade. Duties on Baltic timber. Drinking customs. The
use of rum universal. Large consumption of liquors.
CHAPTER II.
Political condition of New Brunswick in 1818. The Provincial
Constitution. Qualification of voters Elections by open
voting. Functions of the Council. Hereditary office hold-
ers. Large powers of the governor. How popular measures
were defeated. The family compact. Conflicts between
the Assembly and the Council. The Imperial Customs
establishment. Enormous fees on shipping. The lands of
the Province controlled by the Imperial Government.
Large fees on land grants. Timber licenses illegally
exacted. Abuse of executive responsibility. Predominence
of the Church of England. Office holders in the legislature.
The boundary question with the United States. Rights of
United States fishermen. The Provincial revenue.
ri . CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.
Agitation for a better system of government. The Loyalists in
control of the government. Misuse of the term " loyalty."
A war of pamphlets. How the governors lectured the
Assembly. Governor Smyth's address in 1820. New
Brunswick takes a hand in British politics. Agitation
against the excessive fees on crown grants. The Council
refuse to assist the Assembly. The Dissenters Marriage
Bill. Opposed by the Council, but became law in 1834.
Agitation against trade restrictions. The Imperial duties.
Large customs salaries. Resolution against them in the
Assembly. The Council against all reform. The Customs
Act of 1835. The end of the Imperial customs establish-
ment in 1848. Change in the constitution of the Council
it is deprived of its executive powers. Publication of
the Council's proceedings.
CHAPTER IV.
The casual and territorial revenue Abuses connected with the
Crown -Land department. Quit rents abolished. Reserved
lands for the navy. Bonds for timber licenses. Strong
resolutions of the Assembly in 1819. Governor Smyth
dissolves the Legislature in a pet. Progress of the agita-
tion. The timber bonds cancelled in 1827. Agitation for
the control of the crown Ian-Is. Insolent dispatch of
Lord Goderich. Return of crown lan^ revenues. Deputa-
tions to England on the subject. The Civil List Bill. Sir
Archibald Campbell creates difficulties and is recalled. The
Province obtains the control of its crown lands in 1837.
Provisions of the Civil List Bill.
CHAPTER V.
The Province becomes affluent. Bad system of appropriating
money. The agitation for responsible government. The
Assembly refuses to surrender the initiation of money
grants Earl Grey's despatch on the subject in 1847. The
Assembly passes Mr Fisher's resolution. Composition of
the Legislative Council. New appointments made. Power
CONTENTS. vii
of the governor to make appointments. Sir Charles Met-
calfe's conduct applauded in New Brunswick. The Reade
appointment in 1845. Indignation of the family compact.
The Assembly passes an address to the Queen on the sub-
ject. The appoiniment cancelled. The Wilmot appoint-
ment to the bench. The battle of responsible government
won.
CHAPTER VI.
Sir Leonard Tilley's ancestry. His great grandfather a loyalist.
His grandfather and father. Place of birth. Education.
Anecdote of Sir Howard Douglas. Goes to St. John in 1831.
His business life. Became a total abstainer. The election
of 1850. Mr. Tilley elected to the legislature. Some of
his colleagues : L. A. Wilmot, Charles Fisher, W. H. Need-
hain, W. J. Ritchie, John H. Gray, R. D. Wilmot, John R.
Partelow. The government still Tory. Gray and Wilmot
enter it. A new education bill. The college. Mr. Hitchie's
resolution. The St. John bye-election. Mr. Tilley resigns
his seat. Railway resolutions. The reciprocity treaty.
General election of 1854 . Mr. Tilley again elected to the
legislature. Defeat of the Street-Partelow government.
New government formed by Mr. Fisher. Mr. Tilley
becomes Provincial Secretary. Responsible government
becomes a reality.
CHAPTER VII.
The prohibitory liquor law. A bold experiment. Strength of
the liquor interest. The governor dissolves the legislature.
Defeat of Mr. Tilley in St. John. A new government
formed by Messrs. Gray and Wilmot. The election of
1857. Mr. Tilley returned for St. John city. Joins Mr.
Fisher in the formation of a government. A strong
administration. Railway legislation. The Intercolonial
negotiations. Immigration. State of the finances. Com-
pletion of the railway from St. John to Phediac. Voting
by ballot. Re-organization of the college. The Connell
episode. The crown lands investigation. The general
election of 1861.
viii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Intercolonial Railway conferences. The Trent affair. Mr.
Howe's letter. The Duke of Newcastle's reply. The rail-
way terms arranged. Canada declines to pass the neces-
sary legislation.
CHAPTER IX.
The Confederation question. Lord Durham. Views of the people.
The Hon. Joseph Howe. Policy of the British government.
Growth of the feelii g in favor of a union of the colonies.
The Railway Facility Act. Maritime union. The legisla-
ture of Canada's visit to the Maritime Provinces. The
deadlock in Canada. Confederation the only remedy. The
Charlottetown convention. Its capture by the Canadian
delegates. 1 he Quebec convention. A scheme of union
arranged. The objections raised against it. Dissolution of
the New Brunswick Legislature. Defeat of the Confedera-
tion scheme. Mr. Tilley beaten in St. John. The Smith-
Anglin government formed. Dissensions in its ranks.
Resignation of Mr. Anglin. Mr. Packard's defeat in York.
CHAPTER X.
Lieutenant-governor Gordon. The Fenian movement. Threats
of invasion. The meeting of the legislature in 1866. Con-
federation paragraph in the speech from the throne.
Attitude of the Legislative Council. A. R. Wetmore deserts
the anti-confederation party. Debate on the address in
the house. Resignation of the government. The corres-
pondence between the governor and his advisers. The
Fenian invasion. A new government formed. Mr. Tilley
again Provincial Secretary. The general elections.
Triumph of Confederation at the polls. Mr. Tilley's part in
the victory. His able speeches his personal magnetism.
The new legislature. Confederation resolutions in the
House of Assembly, The debate upon them. Mr. Skinner's
attitude. Delegates to go to England to arrange terms of
union.
CONTENTS. ix
CHAPTER XI.
The London conference. The British North America Act. The
last session of the old legislature. The first Dominion
government formed. Mr. Tilley becomes Minister of
Customs. The election. Mr. Tilley returned for St. John.
The first parliament of Canada and its work.
CHAPTER XII.
Mr. Tilley appointed lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick.
The Pacific Scandal. Mr. Tilley 's life as governor. His
total abstinence principles. The election of 1878. He is
re-elected for St. John city. Becomes a member of the
new government of Sir John A. Macdonald. His speech
on the National Policy. His second term as Lieutenant
Governor.
CHAPTER XIII.
Sir Leonard Tilley's last illness and death. His interest in the
general election. Universal sympathy and regret at his
decease. His funeral. Comments of the St. John press.
CHAPTER XIV.
Sir Leonard Tilley's home life. His love of old friends. His
religious views. Interest in philanthropic objects. His
last visit to England. His family. Lady Tilley. Her
active efforts in the cause of humanity. Carleton House.
PREFACE
This work was commenced some six years ago, for
the purpose of relating, in a brief space, the political
history of New Brunswick, during the period of Sir
Leonard Tilley's life, and telling the story of a New
Brunswick public man, who was a member of the first
government under the responsible system, and who
attained to a greater distinction, both in his own province
and in Canada, than any other statesman whom New
Brunswick has yet produced. The story of the battle
for responsible government has not before been told in
any book that has been published in this province, yet
New Brunswick's share in that struggle was a most
interesting phase of a contest which was waged in every
one of the provinces that formed the original Dominion
of Canada. It is the story of the progress of a people
from political infancy to a political manhood, and no
person who is not informed in regard to it, can have any
idea of the real worth of the institutions under which he
lives, or of the blessings which he enjoys under a system
of government which tolerates no privileged class, and
places all men upon an equal footing.
Sir Leonard Tilley was not born early enough to take
any conspicuous part in the contest for responsible gov-
ernment, but he was a member of the administration
which first worked it out in practice, and he was, during
PREFACE. xi
the whole of his public career, one of its most strenuous
supporters and advocates. The opposition which he met
with, as a public man, in the early part of his career, was
the opposition of those who were opposed to responsible
government, and who used all sorts of contemptuous
phrases in describing the new system which had come
into force, and which has done so much to strengthen the
loyalty of the people of Canada to the mother country.
His life is, therefore, united to the story of the growth of
responsible government, and is now given to the people
of this province, in the hope that it will lead to a closer
study of their own political history, and of the lives of the
distinguished men who have taken a conspicuous part
in it.
In preparing this life of Sir Leonard Til ley, the author
had the advantage of his active assistance in the collec-
tion of the necessary documents, both public and private,
which were used for that purpose. Sir Leonard also
granted the author numerous private interviews, and was
at all times accessible for the purpose of answering any
question which might be propounded to him on the sub-
jects connected with this book. At the same time it
ought to be stated that no portion of this volume was
ever submitted to him for approval or otherwise, and
that, therefore, he is not in any sense responsible for any
of the opinions which are expressed in it, either in regard
to political questions or the characters of public men.
The writer felt that, in preparing a work of this kind, he
should not be hampered by the supervision of any other
person, and that it would have been embarrassing to him-
self, and to the distinguished person whose life he com-
xii PREFACE.
memorates, if it had been revised by the latter, and he
had been made in any sense responsible for it.
It was intended that this book should have appeared in
the year 1891, and a considerable portion of it was
actually printed at that date, but circumstances which
need not be mentioned here, prevented its publication at
that time, and this will account for one or two references
in it to dates which seem to imply an earlier publication
than the present one. It was also expected that this
volume should have made its appearance during the life
of Sir Leonard Tilley, and it would, under any circum-
stances, have been published during the present year, but
his sudden death, which was wholly unexpected, changed
all this, and made it necessary to add to the story of his
life an account of his lamented death. It may be added
that this Life of Sir Leonard Tilley is not written from
the point of view of one who believed that he was always
right in everything he did. The author was with him in
the great struggle for Confederation, and he was decidedly
opposed to him with respect to the National Policy. So
far as possible, however, there has been no controversial
matter introduced into this volume in regard to any
question which can now be considered as a live one, of
which is likely to be again fought out at the polls.
LIFE AND TIMES
OF
SIR LEONARD TILLEY.
CHAPTEE I.
THE SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CONDITION OF NEW BRUNS-
WICK IN 1818.
Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, who was destined to be
twice Finance Minister of Canada, and twice Lieutenant
Governor of New Brunswick, was born at Gagetown, in
the County of Queens and Province of New Brunswick
on the 8th May, 1818. At that time New Brunswick
had existed as a separate province for thirty-four years,
and thirty-five years had elapsed since the arrival of the
first great immigration of loyalists at St. John. Only
fifty-six years before, the first English settlers of New
Brunswick had reached the mouth of the St. John river,
2 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and the township of Maugerville, the oldest agricultural
settlement in New Brunswick, only dated back fifty-five
years. The Province was young not only in years but
in character; it was undeveloped and unprosperous, polit-
ically and economically. It becomes necessary, therefore,
to a right understanding of the career of the subject of
our biography, to describe the condition of New Bruns-
wick at the date of his birth, and the social and political
state of its people. Any one who imagines that life in
New Brunswick in 1818 was at all like what it is in
1891 will be guilty of a grievous error, for changes of
the most revolutionary character have taken place in re-
spect to almost everything which enters into the lives of
the people.
In 1818 the population of the province did not exceed
50,000 souls. The first census was taken in 1824, when
it was found that New Brunswick had 74,176 inhab-
itants. But the immigration had been large between 1818
and the year of the census, so that the population in 1818
was probably less than the figure named. The city of
St. John at that period had fewer than 6,000 inhabitants,
and the entire county, including Portland, and exclusive
of the city, not more than 3,000 persons. Fredericton
had then a population of about 1,500 or less than one
fourth its present number. The entire County of York, in-
cluding the capital of the Province, had not more than 8000
people. Northumberland with about 12,000 inhabitants
was the most populous county, but its area then includ-
ed what is now Kent, Gloucester and Eestigouche.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 3
Westmoreland, which included the territory which is now
Albert county, had 6,000 inhabitants, and Charlotte
about the same number. The County of Queens in
which Sir Leonard Tilley was born had not more than
4,000 people. It was the day of small things in New
Brunswick, seventy-three years ago.
The population of New Brunswick was much more
homogeneous in 1818 than it is at present. The original
settlers were from Massachusetts and largely came from
a stock which had been settled in New England for a
century or more at the time of their emigration to the River
St. John in 1762 and 1763. The Simondses, Hazens,
Burpees, Perleys, Coys, Barkers, Whites, Quintons and
other families which then settled in New Brunswick were
all of New England growth, and brought with them the
peculiarities and customs which prevailed among the
people who were settled around Massachusetts Bay.
The Loyalist immigration largely added to the number of
persons from New England, but it also introduced a still
greater number from New York, the Middle States and
the South. Still the stock was mainly English and sub-
stantially the same in origin as that which came from
New England, although differing from it in some minor
points of custom and speech. The only elements that
came in the Loyalist immigration which differed radical-
ly from the old stock were the disbanded soldiers of the
regiments raised in the British Islands, and a few Hes-
sians who preferred to remain on this side of the Atlantic
rather than trust themselves again to the tender mercies
4 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of their hereditary prince. It was not until 1817 that
the immigration to New Brunswick from the United
Kingdom commenced which was destined so materially
to modify the character of our population. This immi-
gration has now practically ceased or rather has become
insignificant in proportion to the number of natives, so
that the population of New Brunswick has again largely
grown to be a native one, and its characteristics are becom-
ing fixed. The old struggle between the Loyalist element
and the new comers has ceased; numerous inter-mar-
riages with Loyalist families have immensely added to the
number of those who claim descent from the immigrants
of 1783, and, except where religion is involved, race ani-
mosities have died away. But throughout the greater
part of Sir Leonard Tilley's career these race animosities
were active and potent and exercised no small influence
on the politics of the Province.
In 1818 the homes of the people of New Brunswick
presented a marked contrast to their present aspect. In
the cities, wood was the universal building material, the
number of buildings of brick and stone being so few as to
be hardly worthy of mention. St. John did not possess
a single brick residence until the year 1817, when the
Disbrow house on the corner of Germain and Church
streets was built. The great majority of the residences
were quite plain in appearance and not too well provided
with conveniences. Bath rooms were hardly known;
there were no sewers worthy of the name, and the sup-
ply of water for domestic use had to be obtained from
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 5
wells. In 1818, and for many years afterwards, water
was hawked about the streets of St. John at a half penny
a pail. The houses of the better class in the cities were
generally two stories in height with a high pitch roof.
Some of these buildings exist at the present day and en-
able a striking contrast to be drawn between the best
houses of that age and of this. A few very rich men,
however, who were ambitious to have fine mansions,
erected houses of a more pretentious character shortly
after the era of which I have been speaking. The
Wright house, built by the collector of the port of St.
John in 1819, was the finest of these, but it was
destroyed in the great fire of 1877. The Peters house
on Coburg street, which was built by Attorney General
Peters, and is now owned by the Hatheway family, is
almost the only survivor of the better class of houses of
that day. Both of these mansions were built of stone.
The Hazen house, on the corner of Charlotte street and
King Square, which is now the Hotel Dufferin, is another
survivor of that time.
The average country house of the year 1818 in the old-
er settled parts of the Province was a story and half
wooden building with a narrow hall in the middle, giv-
ing four rooms on each floor. A high chimney with two
or more fire-places connected with it afforded the means
of heating the kitchen and sitting rooms. These great
fire-places were very pleasant to look at when the fire
was blazing brightly, and in moderate weather in winter
were not uncomfortable. But when the mercury fell to
6 LIFE AND TIMES OF
zero and the cold winds whistled about the unsheltered
house, the fire-place as a means of heating failed. The
hapless individual who sought it for warmth was roasted
on one side and frozen on the other. The only
thing the fire-place insured was good ventilation, and
the great majority of country houses were quite too well
provided in this respect, and admitted the cold air with
a degree of freedom which was very unfavorable to the
comfort of their inhabitants. In the newer settlements
log houses predominated and they were still more
uncomfortable than those just described. Only a vast
consumption of fuel, which was everywhere abundant,
rendered them habitable.
All the cooking of those days was done at the big fire-
place. A swinging crane hung over the fire and it was
provided with hooks of various lengths upon which the
pots could be hang. Bread was baked and meat cooked
in a large flat pot with a cover which was known as the
bake-kettle, and with a good fire and plenty of live coals
on the hearth, where the bake-kettle was placed, and on
the cover of this important utensil, the cooking was usu-
ally well done. But with this system cooking of all
kinds was extremely laborious. The fire-place itself
was frequently five feet in width and the back-log which
formed the basis of the fire, and without which a good
fire could not be built, was generally so huge and heavy
that it could not be lifted but had to be rolled into its
place. Swinging a heavy pot filled with potatoes on to
the crane was laborious work, and required lifting powers
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 7
beyond the strength of ordinary women. When the farm
was extensive and large quantities of food had to be
cooked, not only for the persons who lived and worked
upon it but for the cattle and pigs, the work of the
women became so heavy that it was injurious to their
health and made them prematurely old. There is a be-
lief in many quarters that the people of that time lived
better and reached a more vigorous age than those of the
present day are likely to attain, but this is a delusion.
The few rugged survivors of the period of which I have
been speaking are no more to be taken as types of the
average individual of that time than some Hercules of
the present day is to be taken as a sample of the average
man. It is one of the beneficent consequences of our im-
proved way of living that the weakly and frail now have
a chance of existence, and, although their, lives may not be
prolonged to great age, they can do much good work
for themselves and for the world while they are with us.
Seventy years ago the people of New Brunswick were
neither so well fed nor so well clad as they are at present.
The farmers of those days grew a great deal of Indian
corn and this grain entered very largely into the food of
the people. Among working men corn meal porridge
was much used, and at many of their meals it was the
principal dish. The Legislature gave a bounty for the
growing of corn on new land, and thus its production was
stimulated especially in the river counties. There was
no oatmeal in the province in those days because there
were no mills in which it could be ground, but oats were
8 LIFE AND TIMES OF
grown in considerable quantities for the lumbermen.
Wheat was giown to a limited extent, but wheat flour
-was much less generally used as food than is the case at
present. In the year 1819 there were 32,857 barrels of
flour imported into New Brunswick and 8,109 were ex-
ported, leaving a net consumption of 24,748 barrels, so that
no great quantity of wheat could have been grown in the
province at that time. Barley was grown to some ex-
tent and also rye. Very little buckwheat was then pro-
duced by our farmers, but potatoes, beets, carrots and
other vegetables were grown in considerable quantities.
There are no figures of the live stock owned by the farm-
ers of New Brunswick until the year 1840, but in a gen-
eral way it may be said that swine and sheep were more
plentiful in proportion to the population in 1818 than
they are at present.
With respect to clothing, the people of the rural dis-
tricts supplied the largest part of it for themselves.
Large flocks of sheep were kept by the farmers and
their wool was made into homespun by the labor of the
women of the family. The wool was in 1818 carded by
hand, but, in the course of time, carding mills were in-
troduced and the women relieved of this laborious work.
The spinning and weaving, however, remained a part
of their tasks, no house being without a spinning wheel
and few without a loom. The homespun thus produced
was worn by both men and women and was thought good
enough for any person. Homespun was made of the
wool of white and black sheep mixed, five or six of the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 9
latter being kept on every farm to color the cloth, which
was called sheep's grey. There was a sort of Kersey
cloth, blue and white, which was made into blouses for
the men. The blue dye-tub was a feature of every
kitchen, and, as it was necessarily closed with a tight cover,
frequently served as a seat. Women had their dresses
made in plaid patterns and frequently wore what were
called camlet cloaks, a sort of Scotch plaid with very
bright colors. Their dresses had mutton leg sleeves and
their bonnets were of the coal scuttle order. Men wore
surtouts that came to their feet, enormous capes covered
with pleats and bell crowned hats. The waists of both
men and women were just under their arms. When a
man wished to have a fashionable Sunday suit he had his
homespun fulled and pressed, there being a few mills in
the province at which this work could be done. This
thickened the cloth and made it more presentable, but
suits made of fulled cloth were seldom well fitting or
attractive. A tailor was employed to come to the farm-
house and make up the suit, and one suit of this kind
was generally required to last several years. In respect
to dress neither the men nor the women of that day
could bear any comparison with those of the present time.
All kinds of imported cloths were costly, especially cotton
which is now so cheap. In lieu of cotton many of the
thrifty farmers' wives manufactured linen out of home
grown flax, a laborious and slow process, which seldom
yielded good results. In nothing is the advance of civiliza-
tion more marked, and with it the increase of comfort,
10 LIFE AND TIMES OF
than in the cheapness of cotton goods which now enter
so largely into the domestic economy of every in-
habitant of this province. Eeady-made shoes were not
to be had in New Brunswick in the year 1818, and the
foot-wear for both men and women was a product of the
farm. The hide of the slain beeve or calf was tanned in-
to leather, and the shoemaker, who like the tailor, was a
nomadic individual, did the rest. There was not
much style about the shoes made under this system and
ladies with small feet had but little opportunity of dis-
playing their neatness in calfskin shoes of home manu-
facture.
Great as is the contrast in the clothing of the peo-
ple between 1818 and 1891, the contrast in the furniture
of the houses is greater still. Few houses in the coun- >
try had carpets and when there was a carpet in the parlor
it was invariably home-made, woven out of the wool
grown on the farm. Chairs of painted wood were consid-
ered good enough for the best room, and very frequent-
ly they were of home manufacture with bottoms of split
ash woven in by the Indians. In the kitchen, which was
the living room of the house, benches were the ordinary
seats. A box about six feet long, two feet wide and two
feet high and with a high back, answered for storing fuel
and for a bed at night. Frequently the children slept in
trundle beds, which to economize space were pushed un-
der the beds of the older people during the day and
drawn out at night. Such a thing as a piano, organ or
other similar musical instrument could hardly be found
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 11
in a country house in the province of New Brunswick
in the year 1818; now there are few country houses
without them. In the matter of books there was also a
great contrast between that time and the present. The
average farm house was well equipped with reading
matter, if, besides a Bible, it had a book of sermons, the
Pilgrim's Progress and Doddridge's Saints Best. News-
papers were seldom to be seen in the country and where
they were taken no one was allowed to read them on a
Sunday.
The agricultural implements used by the farmers in
1818 were of the most primitive description. Labor-
saving farm machinery was unknown. The ploughs
were not much in advance, so far as efficiency went, of
those in use in Europe a thousand years before. Their
mould-boards were of wood sheathed with iron and they
had but one handle. The harrows were home made and
most of the other implements were clumsy and inefficient.
Mowing machines and reapers had not been invented and
all the grain had to be cleaned by the wind, after the
manner of the Egyptians three thousand years ago. Oxen
were much more used than horses in all agricultural
operations and much time was wasted by the farmers in
following their tardy footsteps. The science of agricul-
ture was but little understood and the proper rotation of
crops received hardly any attention. The cattle on the
farms were of inferior breeds and yielded but a poor re-
turn for the food they consumed. No attention whatever
was paid to housing them properly. Any kind of a shed
12 LIFE AND TIMES OF
was considered good enough for a barn, and, while they
frequently suffered from insufficiency of food, they invar-
iably were exposed to the cold. The same inferiority of
breed which marked the cattle of the country extended
to the horses, sheep and swine, especially the latter which
were mostly of the racer variety and yielded a minimum
of flesh and fat from a maximum of food.
Farm wagons were almost the only wheeled vehicles
in use in the rural districts. A few persons possessed
what was termed a chaise, a high two wheeled affair on
leather springs, but these chaises were not common and
were rather thought to savor too much of luxury. The
ordinary mode of travelling was on horseback and when
a lady went to market or to church she usually rode be-
hind her husband on a pillion. Most of the inhabitants
however, were settled on the banks of large rivers, so
that boats and skiffs were available for much of their
travelling. There were about five hundred miles of so-
called roads in the Province at this period, but most of
them were mere bridle paths, only suitable for persons on
horseback. The mail from Fredericton to Gagetown and
St. John was carried by a courier on horseback who gave
due notice of his approach by vigorously blowing a horn.
The principal road from St. John to Fredericton in
1818 followed the west side of the river past Oak Point,
Hampstead, Gagetown and Oromocto. It was 82
miles in length and a ferry had to be used at the mouth
of the Nerepis and at Oromocto. The Nerepis road,
which reduced the distance to Fredericton by about 17
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 13
miles, was not opened until some years later in the time
of Sir Howard Douglas. There were two other roads be-
tween St. John and Fredericton in those days, one on the
east side of the river by Gondola Point, Kingston, the
Head of Bellisle, Washademoak, Jemseg and Sheffield,
which was 86 miles in length; the other by Hampton
Ferry and Head of Bellisle to Vanwart's, where the St.
John river was crossed and the road on the west side of
the river followed to Oromocto and Fredericton. The
other roads of the Province at this time were one to
Fort Cumberland by Hampton Ferry, Sussex and the
Bend 144| miles in length; a road from St. John to St.
Andrews 67 miles in length, and a road from Fredericton
to Miramichi 108| miles in length. There was no road
north of Fredericton on either side of the St. John river ;
no road between the Bend and Miramichi, and no road
north of the Miramichi Eiver. The roads of the pro-
vince were always an object of interest to its people and
in 1816, 1817, 1818 and subsequent years the Legisla-
ture made liberal grants for their improvement, but the
great size of the rivers, necessitating long and costly
bridges, and the other difficulties incident to the construc-
tion of roads in a forest country, made progress slow and
for many years kept the roads in a backward state. The
only mitigating circumstance was that the people used the
roads as little as possible and relied almost entirely on
water communication where there were any considerable
loads to be carried. At that date the distinction be-
tween great roads of communication and bye roads
14 LIFE AND TIMES OF
was recognized, but there is no information available as
to the number of the latter, or their aggregate length.
When the great roads were in so bad a condition the
state of the bye roads may be imagined. Many of
them had merely a nominal existence and some were
little better than blazed paths through the forest.
The year in which Sir Leonard Tilley was born was
the third year that a steamboat ran on the river
between St. John and Fredericton. Prior to that time
the only means of travelling of a public character had
been by small sloops and schooners. In 1784 Ne-
hemiah Beckwith established the first scow or tow-
boat on the river between St. John and Fredericton and
in 1786 the schooner Four Sisters began to make regular
trips between the two places, leaving St. John every
Tuesday, wind and weather permitting. Sloops and
schooners continued to run long after steamboats were
introduced and did not cease their trips until the year
1843. The passenger sloop of the year 1818 was not a
very comfortable kind of vessel. Bishop Plessis of
Quebec who travelled from St. John to Fredericton in
the sloop Minerva, commanded by Captain Segee, in 1815,
gives a very amusing account of his voyage. They em-
barked at Indiantown on Thursday morning the 17th.
August at 8 o'clock and did not reach Fredericton until
Saturday afternoon at 4 o'clock. It thus took the Bis-
hop fifty-six hours to accomplish a voyage which is per-
formed by the steamboats of the present day in less than
seven hours. This sloop had twenty-one persons on
SIK LEONARD TILLEY. 15
board, of whom four were women and four children, and
she was so small that this number crowded her uncom-
fortably. The captain, a mate and two negroes formed
the crew. A small-after cabin was reserved for ladies
and the forward one was for the men and was also used
as a dining room. It was too small to allow all the
twenty-one passengers to eat at once so that they had to
be accommodated at two tables. The sleeping conven-
iences were wretched. The good bishop says patheti-
cally in his journal: "Dirty beds without clothes and
without blankets were the lot of whoever did not wish
to sleep in the common room and in view of the other
passengers, men and women, who were enjoying them-
selves at cards far into the night. The first was so disa-
greeable to the prelate that he retired in his little cabin
with Messrs. Broncherville and Gadreau which scarcely
sufficed to hold them, much less their baggage which had
been piled into a heap. The following night, the weather
being fine and the moon bright, he determined to re-
main on deck where towards morning he enjoyed a few
hours of uncomfortable rest on overcoats and other
articles of apparel gathered up from one place and another,
for since leaving Halifax he found himself deprived of all
his articles of night use. It was under all these incon-
venciences that two nights and nearly three days were
to be passed in this miserable sloop."
The experience of the Bishop of Quebec was by no
means singular, for the Eev. George J. Mountain, who was
afterwards Episcopal Bishop of Montreal, was three days
16 LIFE AND TIMES OF
on the river between St. John and Oromocto in the year
1814, and being becalmed at the latter place had to
make the remaining part of the journey to Fredericton
on horseback. It will convey to the modern reader some
idea of the difficulties of travel in those days to learn
that the journey of this clergyman from Quebec to Fred-
ericton occupied almost six weeks, and cost as much
money as a trip to Europe and back would at the present
day. He first set sail in a transport from Quebec to
Charlottetown, P. E. I. From thence he crossed to Pictou
and proceeded by land to Halifax. From the latter place he
went to Annapolis and crossed in a schooner to St. John.
No one travelled for pleasure in the year 1818.
The first steamer on the St. John river was the Gen-
eral Smyth, and she reached Fredericton on her initial
trip on the 21st. May 1816. This vessel was named af-
ter the Administrator of the province, General George
Stacey Smyth, and like most enterprises of that time had
her origin in a provincial bounty. In 1812 the Legisla-
ture passed an act "To encourage the erection of a pass-
age boat to be worked by steam for facilitating the
communication between the city of St. John and Freder-
icton." This act was amended and its provisions extend-
ed by a statute of 1813 and it was still further amended
and extended in 1819. By this last act the owners of
the General Smyth were granted the exclusive right of
navigating the St. John river by steam for a period of
ten years. This monopoly expired in 1829 and was not
renewed. The General Smyth only made one trip a
SIR LEONARD TIL LEY. 17
week to Fredericton and therefore did not seriously inter-
fere with the sloops which did not abandon the river
until many years after a steam tug was thoroughly estab-
lished. This pioneer steamer took fifteen hours to make
the trip from St. John to Fredericton. The trip cost four
dollars each way or just four times the present fare.
The General Smyth was very unlike the steamboats of
the present day, all her cabins being below the main
deck. The St. George, owned by the same company, fol-
lowed the General Smyth but the latter was the only
steamboat on the river when Sir Leonard . Tilley was
born.
The people who resided on the St. John River, how-
ever, did not rely on either the steamer or sloops to take
their produce to St. John. They had what were called
market boats, these boats being like those used in the whale
fishery, sharp at both ends, but considerably larger than a
whale boat. They had a cuddy forward, in which a couple
of people could find shelter, and carried a mainsail and
jib rigged on one mast. Dozens of these boats were
to be seen in the market slip at St. John during
the summer and nearly all the produce that was con-
sumed in that city was carried in these market boats-
For people to whom time seems to have been of little
value they answered well enough, but they would not be
regarded with favor by the farmers of to-day, who look
upon time as money and send their produce to market
in the most expeditious manner possible.
Communication was maintained in 1818, and for
B
18 LIFE AND TIMES OF
many years afterwards, between St. John and Digby, by
means of a packet schooner which received a subsidy of
150 a year from the Government of this Province and a
similar amount from the Government of Nova Scotia. It
was not until the year 1827 that the first steamer was
placed on this route. The steamboat service across the
Bay was steadily maintained from that time for the growing
trade of St. John was vitally interested in it being kept
up. In 1818 a packet sloop named the Wellington own-
ed by Noah Disbrow ran to New York, and several small
sloops with accommodations for passengers sailed between
St. John and Eastport. In 1824 this service was supple-
mented by a small steamer, the Tom Thumb, which made
trips from St. John to the ports on Passamaquoddy Bay.
In 1825 a packet schooner of considerable size com-
menced to run to New York, and for many years the
packet service to New York was continued. At a later
period steamers were put on the route between St. John
and Boston, but even so late as the year 1838 persons going
from St. John to Boston had to disembark at Eastport
and drive by stage to Bangor, where they took passage
in a steamboat for Portland or Boston. It is hardly
necessary to remind the reader that in 1818 slow and un-
certain sailing vessels were the only means of reaching
Europe from St. John, it being then thought quite im-
possible for a vessel wholly depending on steam to cross
the Atlantic.
The hotels of New Brunswick in the year 1818 were
few in number and of inferior character. Bishop Plessis,
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 19
whom we have already quoted, gives a very unflattering
account of those he encountered at Fredericton in 'the
year 1815. Judging from his description the city hotels
of that day must have been much worse than the most
inferior country inns of the present time. The bar was
the most prominent feature in all of them and the name
"tavern" which was usually given to them very properly
described their character. It was not until the year
1837 that the people of St. John had in the old St. John ho-
tel a place where a traveller could live in comfort and
decency. In the country the fewness of the travellers
and the universal hospitality of the people made hotels
almost unnecessary, but when a new road was opened up
it was essential that houses should be provided at which
a traveller could find food and shelter. Thus when the
Nerepis road from St. John to Fredericton was complet-
ed in 1824 two persons were induced to settle on it
and keep houses of entertainment, receiving pay from
the Government for doing so. This custom was continu-
ed for many years with all the new roads that were
opened up, and no better proof could be adduced of the
primitive state of affairs which existed at that day.
The keepers of these subsidized wayside inns usually re-
ceived from 25 to 50 a year, and considering that they
had to live remote from their fellow men they were not
overpaid.
Education was in a very unsatisfactory condition in
the Province of New Brunswick in the year 1818, and it
continued in that condition for many years afterwards.
20 LIFE AND TIMES OF
If we may judge from 'the statute book the founders
of the province had very little appreciation for the advan-
tages of education, for no law was passed with a view to
the establishment of public schools until the year 1805..
In that year "An act for encouraging and extending liter-
ature in this Province" was passed under the provisions
of which a public grammar school was established in the
city of St. John which received a grant of 100 for the
purpose of assisting the trustees to procure a suitable
building for school uses, and also an annual grant of 100'
for the support of the master. The same act provided for
the establishment of County schools, and the sections relat-
ing to them being limited in respect to time were con-
tinued by 50th Geo. 3rd, cap. 33 to the year 1816 when
they expired and were replaced by "An act for the
establishment of schools in the province." This act
expired in 1823 and in its place "An act for the encourage-
ment of Parish schools" was passed the same year. This
last act was repealed by "An act relating to Parish
schools" passed in 1833 which continued in force for many
years. All these acts were essentially the same in prin-
ciple as they provided for government aid to teachers who
had been employed to teach schools in the parishes under
the authority of the school trustees. The act of 1833, which
was considered to be a great improvement on former acts,
provided for the appointment of three school trustees in
each parish by the sessions and these trustees were
charged with the duty of dividing the parishes into dis-
tricts and directing the discipline of the schools. They
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 21
were required to certify once a year to the Lieutenant
Governor as to the number of schools in their parish,
the number of scholars and other particulars, and on
their certificate the teacher drew the government money.
This money was granted at the rate of 20 for a male
teacher who had taught school a year, or 10 for six
months, and 10 for a female teacher who had taught
school a year, or 5 for six months, provided the inhabi-
tants of the school district had subscribed an equal
amount for the support of the teacher, or supplied board,
washing and lodging to the teacher in lieu of the money.
Thus, a male teacher, in a district where a school was
always kept, would receive for his year's work his board,
lodging and washing, and 20 in money, and a female
teacher 10. Such a rate of remuneration was not well
calculated to attract competent persons and the result
was very unsatisfactory. Most of the teachers employed
were old men who had a mere smattering of learning and
who were very incompetent instructors. They usually
boarded around among the parents of the pupils, living at
each house in proportion to the number of scholars sent.
This system, which raised them but one degree above
the condition of paupers, was not conducive to their
comfort or self-respect. As there was no uniformity in
the books prescribed and no sufficient educational test,
the results of such teaching were not likely to be
satisfactory. Sometimes the teacher was a woman who
eked out a scanty subsistence by communicating her
small learning to a few scholars whom she gathered in
22 LIFE AND TIMES OF
her kitchen. Generally, however, the school building
was a log hut without any of those appliances which
are now regarded as essential to the proper instruction
of youth.
In the year 1818 the sum of 3,000 was granted by
the Province for the support of public schools ; and in
1819 the same amount was granted, but a return made to
the House of Assembly shows that only about one half
of these amounts was expended, so that there were prob-
ably less than one hundred schools in operation through-
out the Province, and perhaps 4,000 would be a high
estimate of the number of pupils. Thus it will be seen
that, not only were the educational qualifications of the
teachers low, but the schools, such as they were, never
became numerous enough to meet the educational wants
of the children. This condition of affairs was somewhat
improved by subsequent legislation, but it was not until
a Normal School was established for the training of
teachers that New Brunswick can be said to have had
good schools. The free school act of 1872 finally gave
this Province, what it needed most, a first-class school
system by which every child born in it could obtain an
education.
In 1816 an act was passed providing for the establish-
ment of grammar schools in the several counties of the
Province. At that period St. John and St. Andrews had
already grammar schools which had been established
under separate acts, and Fredericton had an Academy or
College which was founded by a Provincial Charter
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 23
granted by Lieutenant Governor Carleton in 1800. The
counties of St. John, Charlotte and York were therefore
excepted from the operation of the general act for the
establishment of grammar schools. This act, after being
amended in 1823, was finally repealed by the act of 1829
which endowed Kings College at Fredericton and made
new provisions for the establishment and support of
grammar schools throughout the Province. Kings Col-
lege, at a later period, developed into the University of
New Brunswick, which is the only Provincial institution
for higher education that we possess. It had its begin-
ning in the original charter of 1800, already referred to,
which established the College of New Brunswick. In the
same year the Governor and Trustees of the College of
New Brunswick received a grant, under the great seal of
the Province, of a considerable tract of land in and near
Fredericton for the support of that institution of learning.
1 In the year 1818 the New Brunswick College was merely
a classical school receiving from the Legislature annually
250, which was the same amount then allowed to the
St. John grammar school. Its principal preceptor was
Eev. James Somerville, a Church of England clergyman,
who was also chaplain to the garrison at Fredericton and
chaplain of the House of Assembly. This gentleman
afterwards became Professor of Divinity and Metaphysics
in Kings College, under its new charter. In 1818, part
of the work of the so-called New Brunswick College was
done by a tutor named Shelton. The.St. John grammar
school was then conducted by James Paterson, who took
24 LIFE AND TIMES OF
charge of it that year and who continued to be its head
master for upwards of forty years. The Fredericton school
and the St. John grammar school were the only institutions
in the Province where anything like a good classical
education could be acquired in the year 1818, but in the
course of a few years grammar schools were established
in all the counties, and that at Gageto wn was the one at
which Sir Leonard Tilley completed his education.
About this time the attention of the people of this
Province was directed to what was called the Madras
system of national schools as conducted by Dr. Bell, the
real founder of the system being Joseph Lancaster. This
system depends for its success on the use of monitors,
who were selected from among the senior pupils, to in-
struct the younger ones. It was supposed at the time to
be a notable discovery, but like other short cut? to learn-
ing, it has fallen out of favor. In July, 1818, the first
Madras school was established in St. John by a Mr. West
from Halifax. This was a boy's school, and a school for
girls, on the same system, was opened a year or two later.
In 1819 a Madras School Charter was procured, under
the great seal of the Province, and the Madras school
system established on a substantial foundation. The
province gave a grant of 250 for the erection of a
suitable school building in St. John and the National
Society in England contributed to its support. This
charter was confirmed by an act passed in 1820. The St.
John school was to- be regarded as the central school, but
it was the design of the charter that the benefits of the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 25
system should be extended to other parts of the Province,
and this was accordingly done. The Madras schools
received liberal appropriations of money, and large grants
of land, and they continued to exist until the introduction
of the free school system. One or two of them indeed
continue in operation up to the present time, but they
have lost their original character and have become simply
Church of England schools, that denomination having
appropriated the Madras school endowments to the
support of school^ in which its principles and creed are
taught. It is clearly the diity of the Legislature to take
over the Madras school property for the benefit of the
common schools.
The Church of England was the leading religious body
in the Province in 1818. A majority of the influential
.settlers among the Loyalists belonged to the Church of
England, and for a time it was virtually regarded as an
established church. One of the first acts of the Legislature
of New Brunswick, 26th Geo. 3rd, Cap. 4, was "An act for
preserving the Church of England as by law established
in this Province, and for securing liberty of conscience in
matters of religion." This act was not quite so sweeping
in its provisions as its title would seem to indicate, its
principal feature being a provision requiring beneficed
clergymen to read the service in their parishes at least
once a month. Liberty of conscience was granted to all
dissenters, and they were also given the right to
erect meeting houses and conduct public worship.
The principal disability from which ministers of
2(3 LIFE AND TIMES OF
other denominations suffered was that they were
denied the right to solemnize marriages. By 31st
Geo. 3rd, Cap. 5, the right to solemnize marriages
was restricted to clergymen of the Church of England,
ministers of the Kirk of Scotland, Roman Catholic clergy-
men and Justices of the Peace. Quakers were permitted
to marry according to the usages of their sect, but all
other ministers were forbidden to solemnize marriages
under a penalty of one hundred pounds and twelve
months imprisonment. This obnoxious law was not
repealed until 1834, when the right of marrying was
extended to ministers and teachers of all other religious
denominations, provided they obtained a license from the
Lieutenant Governor for that purpose. Thus New
Brunswick had been a separate Province for about fifty (
years before ministers of Protestant denominations, other
than the Church of England and the Church of Scotland,
were granted this important right. The bill was specially
reserved for the approval of the King, but fortunately the
King's advisers at that time were the reform government
of Earl Gray, so the bill became law.
The Church of England had been highly favored in the
matter of glebes and grants, but it cannot be said to have
made the best use of its opportunities. In 1818 it had
but nine settled clergymen, who were stationed at St.
John, Fredericton, St. Andrews, St. Stephen, Sussex,
Maugerville, Gagetown, Woodstock and Kingston. The
Church of Scotland had but one minister, who was
stationed at St. John. It is evident that at this time the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 27
Church of England was either very far from doing its
duty to its people or that its adherents were much less
numerous, in proportion to the rest of the population,
than they had been when the Province was first settled.
There was no bishop of the Church of England residing in
New Brunswick in 1818, nor for many years afterwards,
the appointment of the first bishop of Fredericton, who
exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the entire province,
taking place in 1845. The New Brunswick clergy were
in 1818, and up to the year 1845, under the juris-
diction of the Bishop of Nova Scotia, and that ecclesiastic
was, until the year 1833, a member of the Council of
New Brunswick which, besides being a legislative body,
had also executive functions. The Bishop of Nova Scotia
appears to have been present at only one meeting of the
New Brunswick Council, the date being the 3rd July,
1826. His visit to this province at that time was in
connexion with his proper duties as a bishop, and on that
occasion he consecrated St. John's Church in this city.
The appointment of the Bishop of Nova Scotia as a
member of the Council of New Brunswick sufficiently
shows, if any proof was needed,, that the Church of
England was regarded as established in this Province.
This idea is also embodied in the charter of Kings
College, which was granted in 1828. This charter makes
the bishop of the diocese the Visitor of the College and
declares that the president shall always be a clergyman,
in holy orders, of the United Church of England and
Ireland, No religious test was required of students
28 LIFE AND TIMES OF
matriculating or taking degrees in arts, but the Council of
the College, which was the governing body, was to be
composed of members of the Church of England, who,
previous to their appointment, had subscribed to the
thirty-nine articles. The professors to the number of
seven, who were members of the Church of England, were
to be members of the Council, so that although no
religious test was required of them it was reasonably
certain that none but persons of that denomination would
be appointed to professorships. This much can be said
in favor of Kings College, that its charter w r as much less
illiberal than that of its namesake at Windsor, Nova
Scotia, yet surely it was a rank absurdity to place a
provincial college under the control of a single denomina-
tion which could not claim more than one-third of the
population of the Province as belonging to its communion.
This injustice to the other denominations was finally
redressed, but not until after the lapse of many years
and when the usefulness of the College had become
seriously impaired and its very existence threatened.
Even at this day it is doubtful if the University has
ever recovered from the malign effects of the narrow and
sectarian spirit which sought to make it the College of
one denomination instead of a University for all classes
and creeds.
In 1818 the majority of the men who had come with
the Loyalists, and who had occupied influential positions
in the early years of the Province, were dead. Many of
these men were well educated, and some of them had
SIK LEONARD TILLEY. 29
filled offices of high responsibility in the old colonies.
Their sons, who had fewer educational advantages and
who had perhaps less natural energy, were the leading
men in New Brunswick at the time of which I have
been speaking. It is no discredit to the latter to say that
they were hardly equal to their fathers either in ability
or force of character, and they were beginning to be
exposed to the competition of new-comers who had
perhaps but little sympathy with the Loyalists or their
traditions. In the rural districts the tone of society was
very free and easy, and the distinctions of class were
but little observed. Among the people who lived on
their farms and worked every day for their living, as
they had to do at that period, there was very little oppor-
tunity for one class to set itself above another. But it
was otherwise in the cities. In Fredericton, and also in
St. John and St. Andrews, the line which separated the
society people from others was very marked. The best
society in Fredericton consisted of the official element,
with a sprinkling of the military element and the
descendants of the old families who kept up the traditions
of the past. These people had entree to the Government
House, and formed quite an exclusive circle, into which
it was difficult for a new-comer to enter. The professional
men, lawyers, doctors and clergymen of the Church of
England were recognized, for the most part, as belonging
to this set, but tradesmen, or men who lived by com-
merce, were rigorously excluded. In St. John very
much the same state of affairs prevailed, except that a
30 LIFE AND TIMES OF
few merchants who were descended from influential
Loyalist families, and who had acquired considerable
wealth, were able to maintain their position in society
beside the official and professional classes. Those who
composed the official classes were not, as a rule, persons
who could claim any very ancient descent, if their pedi-
grees had been submitted to the inspection of a herald in
the United Kingdom. The officials who occupied
positions in Massachusetts and the other colonies before
the Eevolution, and who afterwards filled public
positions in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, were not
generally men of ancient lineage, but they succeeded in
establishing in both these colonies an aristocracy of their
own, and looked down with something like contempt upon
men who were engaged in mercantile pursuits, although
these men might far surpass them in the antiquity of
their families. It is easy to see that where society was
thus controlled on narrow and exclusive lines there was
but little opportunity for its development or for the
growth either of intellect or learning. When a set of
people have made up their minds that they are superior
by virtue of birth to all others, they are not usually in a
condition to advance very far forward in any direction, or
to add to the intellectual 01 industrial development of the
country in which they live. The regime of this class,
therefore, was rather injurious to New Brunswick, because
it taught the sons of persons who regarded themselves as
the aristocracy to look with contempt upon those pursuits
by the exercise of which the province alone could hope to
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 31
"become wealthy and prosperous. One thing militated very
much against a change in this respect, and that was the
largeness of the official salaries in comparison with those
of the present day, or with the gains of commercial men.
It would be utterly impossible for any official class to
occupy the same position now that was occupied by their
predecessors in 1818, because as compared to the rest of
the population the official classes are now in but indif-
ferent circumstances, whereas they were then the
wealthiest people in the Province. We have reached a
time, fortunately, when broader views prevail, and when
people are not excluded from society by reason of their
occupations, where these occupations are honorable and
respectable.
Among the customs of the year 18.18, which have now
utterly disappeared, was the practice of duelling. In
those days w r hen two men had a quarrel they
thought the proper way in which to vindicate their
honor was for them to stand up and avenge the real
or supposed insult by pistol practice at each other.
Of all the senseless and unchristian methods of
settling a dispute the duel was the worst, and
it is a singular proof of the original and persistent
savagery of human nature that the duel should have
existed in this Province within a period which many
living men can remember. Duels were quite numerous in
.New Brunswick seventy years ago, and some of them
were fatal. One which is recalled at the present day was
that which took place between George Ludlow Wetmore
32 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and George Frederick Street, in the month of October,
1821, resulting in the death of the former. In this case
the other principal, Mr. Street, and the seconds, Messrs.
Davis and Winslow, had to fly from the Province to
escape the penalties of murder. But a year afterwards
they gave themselves up and were tried and acquitted,
thus showing that public opinion was not sufficiently
advanced to punish duelling as it ought to have been
punished. The fact that George Frederick Street after-
wards became a judge of the Supreme Court show's that
he did not suffer in social or political influence merely
because he had the blood of another man on his hands.
One of the latest duels fought in New Brunswick, and
fortunately a harmless one, was that which took place
between Dr. Wilson, who was then a member for West-
morland, and Thomas Gilbert, a member for Queens,,
somewhere about the year 1840. After that, duelling
gradually fell into disrepute, but the spirit which produced
it still survived among some of the ancient inhabitants.
This was shown by a singular occurrence which took
place during the government of Manners Sutton in 1861,
when the Eev. Dr. Jacobs, principal of the University of
New Brunswick, becoming offended at some remarks
made by the Lieutenant Governor as Visitor of the College,
challenged the latter to fight a duel. The duel was not
fought, and the challenger had to withdraw his challenge
to avoid the penalty of being dismissed from the College.
The people of the present day who are unfamiliar with
the duel, and who fail to see the philosophy of it, can
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 3:5
hardly understand the tone of a society in which such
an institution could be tolerated.
In 1818, and for thirty-two years afterwards, th post
office was an imperial institution in the British North
American colonies. The postal facilities of that day were
so very inferior in comparison with what we enjoy at
present, as to make any contrast almost an absurdity.
The postage on letters was so high that no one sent letters
by mail, unless in cases of absolute necessity. It cost
seven pence to send a letter from St. John to Fredericton,
and a shilling to send one to Kichibucto. The postage
from St. John to Dorchester was nine pence, and the
same rate took a letter to Halifax. But it cost one
shilling and three pence to send a letter to Dalhousie,
one shilling and six pence to send it from St. John to
Quebec, and one shilling and eight pence to forward it to
Montreal. These excessive rates of postage existed until
the year 1850, when the post office department was
transferred to the provincial government. A curious
light is thrown on these high rates of postage by some
correspondence which passed between the post office
authorities and the government of New Brunswick in
the year 1843 in regard to the postage charged on certain
public documents which had been forwarded to the
government of this Province from Nova Scotia and Prince
Edward Island. A copy of the laws of Prince Edward
Island, which had been sent from Chaiiottetown for
the use of the provincial government, was charged
34 16s. 8d. postage, upon which the provincial
'c
34 LIFE AND TIMES OF
authorities here refused to take it out of the post
office, and a long correspondence ensued in regard to it.
The packet in which the law book was contained being
closed, it was subject to letter postage, and the Post-
master General or his deputy was unable to relax or
reduce the rate, so that the book in question probably
never reached its destination. It is impossible to
exaggerate the inconvenience which must have resulted
from such excessive rates of postage ; nor was this the
only evil from which the Province suffered in connection
with the post office department. Mails, which now go
daily or twice or three times a week, at that day seldom
went oftener than once a week, and these mails were
usually so small that a courier on horseback was able to
carry them with him. Those who had friends at a
distance seldom resorted to the post office for the purpose
of communicating with them, and depended on sending
letters by private hand when some casual traveller
journeyed between the places. The same difficulty, with
regard to postage, retarded the circulation of newspapers,
and prevented the transmission of intelligence throughout
the country.
The newspapers of the year 1818 in the Province of
New Brunswick were few in number and of very
indifferent quality. Besides the " Eoyal Gazette," which
was an official publication issued at Fredericton, there
were not more than three or four weekly papers in
existence throughout the Province. The principal of
these was the "New Brunswick Courier," which was
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 3T>
commenced by Henry Chubb & Company in the year
1811, and which existed for upwards of fifty years. The
" City Gazette," published by William Durant & Co.,
was also in existence at that time, and the " Star and
Commercial Intelligencer " began its short life about the
same period. The newspapers of that day, however, were
quite different from these of the present time. Their
advertisements were few in number and not very attrac-
tive in appearance. Local news was remarkably scarce,
and what there was of it was not always properly looked
after. The average newspaper of seventy years ago
contained a great deal more foreign intelligence, in
proportion to its size, than the newspapers of the
present day, and far less that had any bearing on New
Brunswick. Its columns were usually filled with
accounts of the doings of great people in Europe, and,
except when the Legislature was in session, there was
very little of provincial interest to be found in it. Even
when the Legislature was sitting there were no debates
published that were worthy of the name, the newspaper
editors of that day having a very wholesome dread of
being brought up before the bar of the House for breach
of privilege. The gentlemen who composed the Legisla-
ture in those days thought very highly of their privileges,
and were not disposed to deal leniently with any person
who ventured to attack them. In 1818, William Durant,
the publisher of the " City Gazette," was brought before
the bar of the House, charged with the publication of an
article which reflected on some of the members. This
3C LIFE AKD TIMES OF
article was voted a high breach of privilege, but Durant
escaped by declaring that the article in question was
written by Stephen Humbert, one of the members for the
city of St. John. The Legislature then proceeded against
Humbert, who was called upon for an explanation of his
conduct, and this proving unsatisfactory, he was expelled
from the House and his seat declared vacant. The
liberty of the press of New Brunswick was of very little
value in the year 1818, and therefore there was not
likely to be much freedom in the comments of the editors
upon the conduct of those who were doing the public
business. It was dangerous for a newspaper to offend
" the powers that be," and thus any chance of improve-
ment by bringing the force of public opinion to bear on
wrong doers was lost. In nothing has the Province of
New Brunswick advanced more materially, during the
past seventy years, than in respect to its newspapers.
In the year 1818 the timber trade formed the great
exporting business of New Brunswick. At that time
spruce deals, which now form the staple of our exports,
were almost wholly unknown, and it did not enter into
the wildest dreams of the people of that period to
imagine that the day was approaching when the
pine timber trade would come to an end and the
despised spruce take its place. Owing to the im-
perfect character of the returns presented to the
Legislature, we have no means of ascertaining what
the exports of timber were in the year 1818, but
at the session of 1821, a return was made to the House
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 37
of Assembly, giving the exports and imports of New
Brunswick for the years 1819 and 1820. From this
return we learn that 1,283 vessels, of 251,538 tons,
entered the ports of New Brunswick in the year 1819,
and that during the same year 1,333 vessels, of 257,293
tons, were cleared from our ports. At that time all the
exports and imports of New Brunswick were included in
the returns of the port of St. John, West Isles, Miramichi
and St. Andrews, all being regarded as out-bays of St.
John. The returns for 1819 and 1820 make no distinc-
tion between the exports and imports from St. John and
those from the out-bays, all being lumped together ; but
from the returns of 1821, in which they are distinguished,
it would appear that about half the exports 01" New
Brunswick went from the port of St. John. The exports
of the whole Province for the year 1819 comprised
247,398 tons of timber, 26,545,000 feet of pine boards
and plank, 10,910 oar rafters, 15,821 handspikes, 19,890
hogshead shocks, 6,616,000 shingles, 5,850,000 staves,
6,099 cords of lath wood, and 6,232 masts and spars. In
addition to these the Province exported that year 40,073
quintals of dry fish, 362 barrels of salmon, 11,436 barrels
of herring, and 523 barrels of fish oil. Among the
imports of the Province were 11,974,000 feet of pine
boards and plank, 3,587,000 staves, and 3,746,000
shingles ; so that, as is the case at present, a certain
proportion of the lumber exports of New Brunswick
appears to have come from the Province of Nova Scotia.
The exports of timber for the year 1820 were 207,899
38 LIFE AND TIMES OF
tons. The other exports of the Province at this period
consisted of coal, gypsum, grindstones and potatoes. The
quantities of coal exported were, however, quite small,
not much more than 1,000 tons a year. But in 1819,
99,887 tons of gypsum were exported, and in 1820,
30,627 tons. Of grindstones 13,878 were exported in
1819, and 7,053 in 1820. Of potatoes 10,595 bushels
were exported in 1819, and 1,657 bushels in 1820.
In 1821 the exports of timber amounted to 262,597 tons,
of which 145,963 tons went from the port of Miramichi.
The most of the pine boards and plank, of which
25,000,000 superficial feet were exported that year, went
from St. John, although St. Andrews and West Isles
contributed largely. The export of grindstones that
year fell to 2,088, but the export of gypsum went up
again to 44,554 tons. These figures show what the
extent of the timber trade was at the time this narrative
opens, and also the fluctuating character of the business
done in other articles. The timber trade was conducted
in a very lavish and wasteful manner by the people of
Xew Brunswick seventy years ago. The prices obtained
for the timber were good, and if there had been but a
little economy and care shown in the management qf the
business the results would have been vastly different
and those engaged in it would have become opulent. But
at that time timber was so abundant and so easily
obtained that the people seem to have been impressed
with the idea that the supply would never be exhausted.
The men, instead of working closely and industriously at
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 39
their business in the woods, frequently indulged in pro-
longed debauches, and there was always far too much
rum used in getting out timber for the work to be done
with the greatest amount of economy and efficiency. The
timber trade largely depended upon the condition of the
tariff in the mother country, and the discrimination which
existed in our favor and against the countries in the north
of Europe which sent timber to the British market.
In 1791, when the export of timber from New
Brunswick may be said to have commenced, the duty on
Baltic timber in England was only six shillings and eight
pence a load of fifty cubic feet. This duty, however,
was gradually raised, and in 1812 it amounted to two
pounds, fourteen shillings and eight pence a load. In
1820 the duty was two pounds and fifteen shillings a
load foi Baltic timber, and for the first time a duty of
ten shillings a load was placed on timber from British
North America. These fluctuations in the rate of duty
always produced a degree of uncertainty in the timber
trade, but the existence of the duty was of immense
advantage to the British North American colonies and to
a large extent gave them the command of the market.
It was not till a much later period that the system of
duties was introduced which gradually placed the British
colonies and the nations of the north of Europe on the
same footing with respect to this matter.* There can be
no doubt that had there been the same economy and the
same attention to details in the timber trade in the year
1818 -which exist at present, the men of that day who
40 LIFE AND TIMES OF
were engaged in it would have made splendid fortunes.*
As it was it is doubtful whether the trade was more
profitable than it is at present, notwithstanding the
enormous productiveness of the forests and the advantage
which New Brunswick and the other British colonies
then had in the markets of Great Britain.
In no one respect, perhaps, have the customs of our
people changed more in the past seventy years than in
regard to drinking. In 1818 such a thing as a total
abstinence society was unknown in New Brunswick and
the consumption of liquor was universal. In that year |
there were imported into St. John 329,327 gallons of
rum and shrub, and 32,211 of wine, brandy and gin.
At Miramichi, in the same year, 75,410 gallons of rum
*The following prices of timber and lumber from 1824 to 1839
are taken from the books of the great firm of Robert Rankin
& Co. :
Vpn , Red Pine White Pine Birch Deals per M.
xear. . per ton per ton ' f .
ton ' 16 to 17 in. 14 to 16 in.
1824... 28s. to 30s. 20s 18s. to 20s. 60s
1825.. .27s. to 31s. 3d. 18s. to 20s. 17s. 6d. to 20s. 56s. to 60s.
1826... 27s. to 29s. los. to 20s. 18s. to 20s. 55s. to 60s.
1828... 27s. 8d. His. 17s. 6d. 50s.
1829.. .27s. 6d. to 30s. 21s. 3d. 20s 60s.
1830. ..25s 21s. 3d to 22s. 6d. 21s. 3d. 50s.
1831 22s. 6d. 20s. to 21s. 50s.
1833 14s. to 30s. 20s 50s
1834 15s.6dto26s.6d. 20s 45s. to 50s.
1838 15s. to 22s. 20s 50s
1839 19s.6dto26s.6d. 20s 55s
The above were the prices paid to the producers here, and the
same was shipped at the same price, substituting sterling for
currency.
The sterling then carried no premium, nothing but the par
of 11 1-9.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 41
were imported and 18,084 gallons of wine, brandy and
gin. At St. Andrews, in the same year, 102,185 gallons
of rum were imported and 2,471 gallons of wine, brandy
and gin. That this large importation of liquor was not
exceptional or peculiar to the year 1818 admits of easy
proof. In 1821 a return was laid before the House of
Assembly by the Lieutenant Governor, giving a list of the
goods imported and exported at the port of St. John for
the years 1819 and 1820. From this return it appears
that in 1819 the importation of liquor at St. John alone
reached the enormous aggregate of 844,996 gallons of
rum, 31,183 gallons of brandy and gin, and 16,345 gal-
lons of wine. But 327,930 gallons of this rum were
exported, so that the net consumption of rum that year
in the Province appears to have been 517,066 gallons.
In 1820 the importations of rum were still greater, the
number of gallons brought into the Province that year
being 949,260. The export was also greater and
amounted to 475,837 gallons, so that the net consumption
was smaller than in 1819. That year, however, 19,368
gallons of wine were imported at St. John and 27,336
gallons of brandy and gin.
These figures go to show that the people of New
Brunswick seventy years ago were much more addicted
to drink than they are to-day. It was indeed an age of
drinking. No work of any kind could be done in the
field or in the forest, in the shipyard or in the workshop
without the assistance of rum. Liquor was as much a
staple article for use in the woods as was pork or flour.
42 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The sloops that went up the river from St. John to Fred-
ericton, in Sir Leonard Tilley's boyhood, had their decks-
piled up high with rum and pork, and the one was
regarded as quite as much a necessary of life as the other.
Total abstinence was an unheard of virtue in those days.
This sketch of the social condition of New Brunswick
seventy years ago might be greatly extended, and fuller
details might be supplied to illustrate the various phases-
of the subject, but it is not necessary to do so. Enough
has been shown to prove that life in New Brunswick in
1818 was wholly different from what it is to-day, and
that we have advanced since then quite as much in
material prosperity as we have in political freedom. The
people of to-day would no more endure the hardships and
drawbacks which their fathers had to bear than they
would the yoke of the family compact, or of a Governor
who paid no heed to the wishes of the people.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 43
CHAPTEE II.
THE POLITICAL CONDITION OF NEW BRUNSWICK IN 1818.
In 1818 the political condition of New Brunswick and
the system of government were very different from what
they are at the present time. It would, indeed, have
been impossible, with such a system as prevailed in the
mother country, for New Brunswick to have enjoyed the
same free institutions which exist now. In the United
Kingdom, although the constitution was the same nomin-
ally which is now in force, its operation was entirely
different. The throne was occupied by George III., who
for many years had been insane, and whose functions
were performed by his son the Prince Eegent, afterwards
George IV. The old king, who has earned a title to the
contempt and hatred of the British people in both hemi-
spheres by conduct which separated the British North
American colonies from the mother country and produced
a breach between the two great sections of the Anglo-
Saxon race which has not yet been healed, was then
within but a few months of the end of his life. During
his reign, and while his faculties were active, he had
introduced into British institutions a degree of personal
44 LIFE AND TIMES OF
government which was wholly incompatible with the free
operation of the British constitution. Those who take
the trouble to read the correspondence between his favorite
minister, Lord North, and George III. will understand in
what fashion the British government was conducted
during the reign of that monarch, and how little the
wishes of the people were consulted or the representative
system of the mother country was retained, many petty
boroughs with small population being able to send mem-
bers to parliament, while large and populous cities had
no representation or voice in the councils of the empire.
A few great families imagined that they had the heredi-
tary right to rule and control affairs, not only in the House
of Lords, but also in that branch of the Legislature which
was supposed to represent the people. Great land-owners,
like the Duke of Newcastle, were extensive proprietors of
borough influence and were enabled to give support to
the crown in its measures in return for favors in the
shape of sinecure offices. It is a remarkable proof of the
state of affairs which existed at that period with respect
to the colonies that men were appointed to office in
places they had never seen, and who knew nothing what-
ever of their wants or requirements. Charles Greville, a
clerk of the Privy Council, whose memoirs, recently
published, have excited much interest, not only held that
important and lucrative position, but was also Secretary
for Jamaica, a sinecure office which was performed by
deputy but of which he received the emoluments. It
was not until fourteen years later that the reform bill
LEONAlll) TILLEY. 45
was carried in England, that charter of the people's
liberties which gradually has brought Great Britain to be
the most free and democratic country in the world, with
the exception of her colonies. When the old king died
the scandal which attended the quarrels between George
IV. and his wife filled the land with excitement and
horror. This debauched and worthless monarch, who was
utterly without one redeeming quality, while he was
attempting to obtain a divorce from Queen Caroline for
her alleged infidelities, was living in shameless licentious-
ness with his mistress, Lady Conyngham. With such a
spectacle on the throne it was not to be expected that the
tone of good society in England could be either pure or
satisfactory. Indeed it was not until the reign of Queen
Victoria that the better classes of that country were
obliged to conform to those rules of decency and good
order which alone can make any society tolerable. The
constitution of New Brunswick in 1818 w r as a bad copy
of that of the United Kingdom. There was a House of
Assembly, which was elected by the owners of a freehold
worth 25, if residents of the county in which they voted,
or 50 if non-residents. In the city of St. John the
members were chosen by freemen as well as by freeholders.
The qualification of members was the ownership of a free-
hold worth 200 in the county which they wished to
represent. The term of the general assembly was seven
years, and not four as at present. Elections were not by
ballot but by open voting, and lasted fifteen days, the
poll being removed from one section of the county to
46 LIFE A^D TIMES OF
another for the purpose of taking votes. This system of
election naturally produced great disorders and much
rioting, and tended to convey the impression that the
people were not worthy to be entrusted with power. The
Council, however, which was nominated by the Crown,
and the Lieutenant Governor, who was appointed by the
British government, were the great ruling forces in New
Brunswick at that period. The Council then exercised
legislative as well as executive functions, and absorbed
most of the authority which was not assumed by the
Governor. The latter received his instructions from
England as to the manner in which he should conduct
the affairs of the Province, and these instructions, which
were very voluminous, embraced nearly every topic on
which he was likely to find his judgment exercised. In
a general way they gave him authority over a great many
matters with which a Governor at the present day has
nothing to do. The Governor virtually controlled the
appointments to office, although these appointments were
sometimes nominally made with the advice of his Council.
When, however, there came to be a question between the
Council and the Governor, the former always had to yield.
The royal prerogative, as it was termed, was supposed to
be pre-eminent and to override the wishes of both the
Council and the Assembly. This condition of affairs, so
unfavorable to the development of popular government,
was greatly promoted by the fact that the Governor had
control of a large amount of public revenue quite inde-
pendent of either branch of the Legislature. The casual
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 47
and territorial revenues, which were the names given to
the revenues derived from the crown lands of the Province,
and also the imperial duties, which were collected by
officers appointed by the British government, were at the
disposal of the Governor without reference to the wishes
of his advisers. The Imperial government also con-
trolled the post office, and, though it was not a revenue-
producing branch of the government, this fact still further
emphasized the manner in which our affairs were
governed from Downing Street.
In 1818 only one member of the original Council of
the Province, which was appointed in November, 1784,
was alive. This was the Rev. and Hon. Jonathan Odell,
who occupied the position of Secretary of the Province
from 1784 to June, 1812, when he was succeeded by his
son, William Franklin Odell, who held the position until
the year 1844. These two Odells, the father and son,
filled the office of Provincial Secretary of this Province
for more than sixty years, and no better illustration can
be found of the manner in which the offices were held
and patronage dispensed in those days than this single
fact. The Hon. and Eev. Jonathan Odell had been
originally an Episcopal clergyman in New Jersey.
During the war he became chaplain in one of the Loyalist
corps. Being possessed of considerable influence, he
succeeded in obtaining the appointments of Provincial
Secretary, Registrar, and Clerk of the Council of New
Brunswick when the Province was first established, and
he was not only able to hold on to that office so long as
48 LIFE AND TIMES OF
he wished to perform its duties, but to transfer it to his
son, who held it for a period of thirty-two years. This
fact shows how little the people had to say in regard to
the dispensing of the patronage of the Crown at that
period. The Secretary of the Province naturally obtained
the ear of the Colonial minister, or what was perhaps
more to the purpose, of the permanent clerks in the
Colonial office. He was thus able to check any attempt
on the part of the people, or of the popular branch of the
Legislature, to interfere with him, and in this way all
possibility of reform in the methods of government or
improvement in the management of the public offices
became impossible. The salaries of the officials of the
Province were then large in comparison to what they are
at present, and the occupants of these offices were able
to live on a scale much beyond that of any ordinary
merchant or lawyer. They were strong in social influence
as well as in political power, and the masses of the people
viewed their position as unassailable, and for the most
part acquiesced in the claims which these magnates made
on behalf of their right to govern the country. The
Attorney General of the Province in 1818 was Thomas-
Wetmore, grandfather of the present judge of that name.
He had held the office from the year 1809, and continued
to hold it until the year 1828, when he died. The office
at that time was not as it is at present a political one,,
but generally its term was for the life of the occupant, or
till his removal to a judicial position. Jonathan Bliss
had been Attorney General of the Province from the year
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 41>
1785 until the time of Attorney General Wetmore, and
his resignation of the position was only due to the fact
of his being appointed Chief Justice of the Province of
New Brunswick. The Solicitor General in 1818 was
William Botsford, who a few years later became a judge.
The Advocate General was Ward Chipman Jr., after-
wards Chief Justice of New Brunswick. His father,
Ward Chipman, had held a position in connection with
the pay office of the Loyalist regiments and became
Advocate General in 1787, holding that office until he
was appointed judge in 1809, when he was succeeded by
his son. He was also appointed Solicitor General in
1785, and held that office until he became a judge. Thus
it will be seen that the tendency was altogether in favor
of making the high offices in the Province hereditary, and /
that these offices were distributed, not with a view to the
greatest efficiency in the public service, but in such a
manner as would best satisfy the demands of those who
were clamorous for a public position and who had the
ear of the Governor and his friends. The Treasurer of the
Province in 1818 was John Robinson, who was also
Mayor of St. John. The office of Treasurer at that time
was one of great importance, he being head of the Provin-
cial customs department, and most of the revenues of the
Province coming into his hands. When Mr. Robinson died,
in 1828, he was succeeded by Richard Simonds, but on the
death of the latter, Beverly Robinson, son of John Rob-
inson, was appointed to the treasurership, thus again
illustrating the hereditary principle which prevailed with
50 LIFE AND TIMES OF
respect to such offices. The composition of the Council
at the period of which I have been speaking is of much
interest as illustrating the peculiar system of government
which prevailed. Jonathan Odell has already been
mentioned as one of the Council from the beginning, and
the only survivor of the original Council who was living
in 1818. The other members of the Council were :
Christopher Billop, John Saunders, Ward Chipman,
Jonathan Bliss, John Coffin, John Murray Bliss, William
Pagan, Thomas Wetmore and John Eobinson. Jonathan
Bliss was then the Chief Justice of the Province, and
John Saunders, Ward Chipman and John Murray Bliss
were judges of the Supreme Court. Thomas Wetmore
was Attorney General and John Robinson was Treasurer,
so that nearly all the members of the Council were
officials of the Province in the receipt of salaries, and not
depending upon the public for the positions they held.
The relations of the Council to the Lieutenant Governor
were generally of an amicable character, as it was natural
they should be, considering how much his voice had to
do with their appointment or removal. These men,
although nominally his advisers, were in no position to
thwart his wishes, nor did their desires ever go so far as
cause them to set themselves in opposition to his will.
On many occasions the Governor made appointments
without consulting his Council in any way, it being his
idea that he was the sole dispenser of the royal prerogative,
and that, as all appointments were supposed to emanate
from the Crown, he had the right to appoint without
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 51
reference to the views either of the Council or of the
people of the Province over which he presided. The
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, for many years
after the creation of the Province, was Thomas Carleton,
a brother of Sir Guy Carleton, who was afterwards made
Lord Dorchester. Thomas Carleton held the office of
Lieutenant Governor from 1784 until 1817, when he died
in England. He had resided out of the Province for a
great number of years previous to his death, and was so
little known in it that when he died the event excited
hardly any notice. His successor in the office of Governor
was General George Stacy Smyth, who had filled the
office of President on several occasions in the absence of
Governor Carleton. General Smyth being a military
man, as Governor Carleton had been, naturally knew but
little of the civil needs of the Province, and it was not
until the year 1824 that New Brunswick found, in the
person of Sir Howard Douglas, a governor, who although
an officer in the army, was disposed to take an active
interest in the improvement of the Province with respect
to those matters which were outside the mere military
routine. One of the most flagrant evils in connection
with the system of government which prevailed at that
time was the union of legislative and executive functions
in the Council. It was bad enough to have a Council
acting as advisers of the Lieutenant Governor, composed
almost exclusively gf office holders and other persons
who were interested in having no changes made, but
the evil became intolerable when the Council was invested
52 LIFE AND TIMES OF
with legislative functions and could reject any bill which
came to it from the House of Assembly, the body chosen
by the people. The members of the Council, being per-
manent in their positions and not removable except at
the pleasure of the Crown, naturally looked upon them-
selves as entirely independent of the people, and as
superior to the persons who composed the popular branch
of the Legislature. Chief Justice Bliss or Judge Chip-
man would hardly think the representative of some rural
constituency his equal in point of learning or political
knowledge, and where the Council differed from the
members of the Assembly in regard to any act of legis-
lation the chances were greatly against the opinion of
the House of Assembly prevailing. This is why it
was so long before any reform could be effected in a
system of government which was essentially vicious, and
which did not in any respect reflect the views of the
inhabitants of the Province. The House of Assembly
might pass as many resolutions as it pleased and send up
as many bills for the improvement of public affairs as it
found time to discuss, but the Council was not bound to
give them any attention or to do otherwise than suppress
whatever it regarded as a tendency towards popular
government. At the present day in New Brunswick
government by the people is so firmly grounded in the
constitution that men who advocate any other system
than this are looked upon as relics of a past age ; but in
those days every man who advocated popular government
was regarded with suspicion, as a rebel, a Jacobin, a lev-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 53
eller, a republican, and a malicious person. A free press,
which is now regarded as essential to popular liberty, was
then the subject of animadversion and condemnation.
Many instances might be cited of the manner in which
the attempts of the House of Assembly to improve
matters with respect to the system of government were
frustrated, but some of these will be referred to more
appropriately in future pages at the time of their occur-
rence. One of the causes of quarrel between the two
Houses had been the desire of the members of the
Assembly to pay themselves for their attendance at the
meetings of the Legislature, a most wise and sound
provision, unless we are to surrender the right of legis-
lation to those who have sufficient means to give up their
time exclusively to the public without remuneration.
But at that time the Council regarded the measures taken
by the House of Assembly to reimburse themselves for
their attendance as most reprehensible and blameworthy,
and in this view they were upheld by the Governor. In
1817 the members of the House of Assembly voted
themselves fifteen shillings a day during the period of
their attendance at the Legislature, or going to or coming
from the House, reckoning twenty miles to a day's
travel. This vote seems to have passed without remark,
but in 1818 they set the value of their services at twenty
shillings a day, and there was a conflict between the two
Houses in consequence. Finally the matter was settled
by the same allowance being made to the members of the
Council. In 1819 the amount voted was likewise twenty
54 LIFE AND TIMES OF
shillings a day, and it seems to have been accepted by the
Council. In 1820, however, when the members of the
new House voted themselves twenty shillings a day for
their services, the Council resolved, on motion of the
Attorney General, that the granting of a remuneration to
the members of the House of Assembly at so high a rate
as twenty shillings a day, is a lavish and improvident
grant, and that the further consideration of the bill
making this grant be postponed for six months. This
resolve was passed on motion of Mr. Justice Chipman,
who had been careful in his time to obtain as many
offices as possible, and to exact as high a rate of remun-
eration for them as he could manage to squeeze out of
his employers, whether those employers were the British
government or the people of the Province of New Bruns-
wick. The members of the House, however, were not to
be so defeated, and they placed the obnoxious item in the
supply bill, so that the Legislative Council had not the
option of rejecting it. The Lieutenant Governor, in
proroguing the Legislature, did not forget to remind the
members of the House of the words of the Council,
saying that he had not withheld his asjent to the appro-
priation bill, although it contained an item of expense
which had been deemed by the Council a lavish and
improvident grant. It was thus that the members of
the House of Assembly were accustomed to be lectured
by the Governor and by the members of the Council, who
regarded themselves as a superior order of beings. This
matter serves to illustrate the manner in which the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 55
business of legislation was conducted by the Governor and
his alleged advisers, the Council. The year 1819 fur-
nished another instance of the bad temper of the Governor,
and of the manner in which he sought to go beyond his
proper authority. The House of Assembly discovered
that the Surveyor General had commenced to exact bonds
from the lessees of timber lands, requiring them to pay a
shilling a ton for all timber they might cut on the lands
leased to them. They naturally enquired of the Governor
\vhat authority he had to make such an arrangement as
this, and he replied that it was done to prevent the waste
of timber on the Crown lands. This, however, was not
a proper answer to the demand, because it was virtually
levying an export duty on the timber of the Province
without the authority of the Legislature of New Bruns-
wick, or of the British Parliament. The Assembly
persisted in their protests against the acts of the Governor,
and that functionary came down in a very bad frame of
mind, at the close of the session, and dissolved the House,
which had then five years to run, stating : " It is with
great concern that I notice your persistence in the
measure to which your attention has been very recently
called, which conduct I cannot suffer to pass unnoticed,
consistent with the duty I owe to my Sovereign. The only
mode which you have now left me to do this is by dis-
solving this General Assembly." Thus was the business
of New Brunswick conducted seventy years ago, when
Governors imagined themselves to be vested, not only
with the prerogatives of the Crown, but with the whole
56 LIFE AND TIMES OF
power of the Imperial Parliament. The power of the
Governor to regulate matters in the Province without
the authority of the Legislature was greatly increased
by the fact that a certain proportion of the revenue
was collected under Imperial authority and could
be expended by him without any reference what-
ever to the Legislature. , The British government, under
a number of acts of parliament, had been in the habit of
levying import duties on certain products that were
imported into the Province of New Brunswick. To do
this they maintained their own customs establishments,
so that the Imperial customs and the revenue officers of
the Province both exacted duties upon the same article.
The head of the Provincial customs establishment was
termed the Province Treasurer, and his officers, who acted
as collectors of duties at the several outports, were
designated Deputy Treasurers. The Imperial officers, on
the other hand, went by their proper names as Collectors
and Deputy Collectors at the several ports. This
arrangement lasted for many years after the time of
which I have been speaking, and was productive of great
inconvenience. One of its results was to seriously impair
the export trade of the Province, for, while goods imported
into New Brunswick from foreign parts were allowed to
be bonded by the Provincial authorities, if intended
for export, they were required to pay duty to the Im-
perial authorities, whether intended for export or not,
and no drawback was allowed. It was also a subject
of complaint, both in New Brunswick and Nova
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 57
Scotia, that the customs authorities charged enormous
fees on shipping, so as to seriously embarrass the
coasting trade between the two Provinces. The customs
authorities treated New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince
Edward Island and Cape Breton as separate countries,
charging fees on their intercourse with each other in
the same manner as on foreign voyages ; so that a
vessel clearing at St. John for a port in Nova Scotia
had to pay as high customs charges as if she was bound
to the East Indies or to Liverpool. The fee charged on
a coaster going from a New Brunswick port to a Nova
Scotia port was 2 2s., which of itself was enough to put
a stop to the trade which naturally existed between the
two Provinces. It was not until the year 1825 that this
enormous evil was rectified by the Imperial act, 6
George IV., Ch. 14, which abolished or reduced to
reasonable proportions the fees chargeable on the coasting
trade, and which placed the customs establishments in
the several Provinces on a more liberal footing. By that
act the net produce of the revenue collected under the
several acts of parliament was to be applied to the use
of the Colony, so that the Legislature of New Brunswick
obtained control at once of a large amount of money which
before had gone into the Imperial exchequer. Even this,
however, did not prove altogether satisfactory, because
the salaries of customs officials still continued to be paid
out of the gross amount of revenue collected, and over
these salaries the Legislature of the Province had no
control. It was also a cause of complaint that, while the
58 LIFE AISD TIMES OF
shipping interests of the Province derived great advan-
tages from the reduction or abolition of the fees formerly
payable to the officers of the customs, these advantages
were neutralized to some extent by the fact that Colonial
vessels still remained liable to heavy charges in foreign
ports, while British ships and the ships of foreigners,
which formerly paid fees towards the support of the
custom house establishment in the Province, were
admitted free from any fees or imposts whatever. In
addition to this large source of revenue from customs
the Imperial government retained all the lands of the
Province, and the revenue collected from them, which
was called the casual and territorial revenue, went into
the Imperial exchequer. This revenue was chargeable
with the salaries of certain officials in the Province,
designated His Majesty's civil list, but it was altogether
outside the control of the Legislature of New Brunswick,
and the manner of collecting it and the amount collected
were regulated by the authorities of Downing Street.
Under this system corruption flourished, extravagance
reigned supreme, and the Surveyor General, who was
head of the Crown Land Department, became a great
personage with a large revenue, sometimes greater than
that of the Lieutenant Governor, and with more political
influence than any official ought to possess.
In those days the fees exacted by the Surveyor General
and other officials on land grants were also the subject of
complaint. It appeared from a return which was made
by the Governor in reply to an address of the Legislature
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 59
in 1819, that the fees exacted on a grant of land not
exceeding 300 acres in extent, amounted to 11 13s. 4d.,
equal to almost $47 of the money of the present day. Of
this sum the Governor received 4 Is. 8d., the Secretary
3 7s. 6d., the Attorney General 1 10s. 10d., the
Surveyor General 2, and the Auditor General
2 13s. 4d. It will be seen by this that these officials,
who virtually controlled the affairs of the Province, had
a direct pecuniary interest in the issuing of land grants,
and that while on the one hand the fees exacted were
enormous and excessive, on the other hand it was to their
advantage to encourage the issuing of grants to as large
an extent as possible. This was an almost certain means
of defeating the object of the Legislature to effect the
settlement of the Province by industrious workers, for
the fees, while high on all grants, were excessive on the
smaller ones, and the burthen diminished in proportion
as the grants became large. In an address which was
presented to -the King in the year 1831 by the Legis-
lature, the grievances under which the Province suffered
from the operation of the system of dealing with the
Crown lands, were duly set forth. It was stated that
under this system very large sums were taken from the
people of the Province for licenses to cut timber, and that
enormous fees were exacted without the authority of
Parliament or of the Legislature. It was complained
that the Commissioner of Crown lands imposed on timber
licenses a duty of Is. 3d. per ton and exacted a fee of
45s., thereby injuring the subject without benefiting the
60 LIFE AND TIMES OF
revenue. It is no wonder that under the circumstances
the members expressed their opinion that such a system
of taxation, without authority, was incompatible with free
government, and required redress.
Another great evil in connection with the system of
government which existed in the year 1818 was the
absence of executive responsibility. The money which
was received by the Province went into the office of the
Provincial Treasurer freely enough, but the manner in
which it was to be disposed of was largely left to chance.
There was no executive authority in the Province at that
time, which exercised the same functions as the Executive
Council of the present day. The Governor was not
responsible to any person but the Crown or the British
government. The members of the Council were not
responsible to the people, and were selected without
reference to the wishes of the people ; and while the
House of Assembly could withhold grants of money which
were necessary for the public service, the manner in
which these grants were made was highly unsatisfactory,
and demoralizing in its tendency. At the present time
the business of the Executive has to be considered as a
whole, and the government is responsible for the due
disbursement of the public money for the public services.
The government is supposed to know how much money
it will have at its disposal, and how much it can afford
to pay, and any attempt on the part of the House of
Assembly to force it to grant a larger sum than it con-
siders the finances of the Province can afford, would be
SIR LEONARD T1LLEY. 61
regarded as a vote of want of confidence, and would lead
to its resignation. For that reason all money grants
which are moved in the Assembly must be initiated by
the Executive, and no private member can present a
petition asking for money, or can introduce a bill requiring
the payment of money, without the assent of the govern-
ment. But in 1818 the disposal of the money was
entrusted to a committee which doled out grants for the
public services in such a manner that no one was respon-
sible for them. This led to what was called a system of
" log rolling," by which a member who desired grants for
his own locality agreed to support the grants of members
from other localities on condition that his demands were
supported by them. Thus the member for Queens, who
wished to have a new road opened in a country district,
and wanted a grant for that purpose, agreed to support a
similar demand from the member for York or the
member for St. John, on condition that his grant was
supported by them. It is easy to see that under this
system there was no check whatever on extravagance,
and that sums of money might be voted for grants far
beyond the ability of the Province to pay, no one having
any very clear idea of what the income of the Province
was or might be during a certain year, and everybody
being anxious to obtain as much money as possible for
his own district. 'It will be seen by and by how strongly
the effort to bring about a change of system and the in-
troduction of responsible government was resisted even
by those who were most opposed to the arbitrary and
62 LIFE AND TIMES OF
absurd restrictions imposed on the Province by the
Colonial office. There were many men who were ready
to resist the exactions of the customs authorities and
denounce the extravagance of the Crown Land Depart-
mentj who, when it came to the placing of the control of
the finances of the Province in the hands of the Executive,
exclaimed against the proposed innovation and denounced
it as an infringement on their liberties. Fortunately for
New Brunswick, these half-hearted friends of improve-
ment who halted by the way, were not able to prevent
altogether the introduction of responsible government in
its integrity, although they contrived to retard it for a
good many years.
Another great cause of complaint at the system of
government which prevailed in this Province in the year
1818 was the predominance that was given to members
of the Church of England. Of the nine members of the
Council who were in office in that year, all but one
belonged to the Church of England. Every judge of the
Supreme Court belonged to the same communion, and
indeed the first judge appointed in New Brunswick who
was not a member of the Church of England was the
Honorable L. A. Wilmot, who took his seat for the first
time on the Bench in 1851, after the Province had been
in existence for almost seventy years. The same state
of things was found to exist with regard to the other
offices, the fact that a man was a member of the Church
of England placing him in a much more favorable position
for obtaining an office than if he belonged to one of those
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 63
bodies which were called Dissenters. In the Province
of Nova Scotia, in the year 1809, the bishop was made a
member of the Council, and soon afterwards the Bishop
of Nova Scotia was appointed a member of the Council
of New Brunswick. In July, 1826, the Eight Eeverend
John Inglis, Lord Bishop of Nova Scotia, took his seat
as a member of the Council of New Brunswick, while on
a visit to this portion of his diocese. This was the first
and only instance of the Bishop of Nova Scotia exercising
his rights as a member of the New Brunswick Council,
but the fact that such an instance should have occurred
shows that the right might have been exercised at any
time, and also emphasizes, in a very marked manner, the
evil and injustice of the system of government which
permitted the head of one denomination of Christians to
exercise the functions of an executive councillor and a
member of the upper branch of the Legislature, while
ministers of other denominations were not only excluded,
but were expressly disqualified, by act of the Legislature,
from being elected members of the House of Assembly.
In Nova Scotia the bishop was given precedence in the
Council after the Chief Justice, but his appointment was
with the understanding that he was not to administer the
government in case of the death or absence of the
Lieutenant Governor, and this appears also to have been
his status in New Brunswick.
But while clergymen were disqualified from occupying
seats in the Legislature, office holders who were in the
receipt of a salary from the Province were eligible to be
64 LIFE AND TIMES OF
members of the Council or members of the House. This
still further tended to create an official class, and it also
enabled certain greedy individuals to acquire numerous
offices for themselves, so that sometimes one man in each
county would absorb nearly all the official positions in it
which were of any pecuniary value. At a period later
than that when this history commences, there was one
practising lawyer in New Brunswick, who afterwards
became a judge of the Supreme Court, who at one time
was a member of the House of Assembly for the County
of Kent, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Postmaster
of Eichibucto, Deputy Treasurer of Eichibucto, Issuer of
Marriage Licenses for the County of Kent, Keeper of
the Seals and Clerk of the Peace and of the Inferior Court
of Common Pleas for the County of Kent, and Eegistrar
of the Probate Court for the County of Kent. Nor was
this a solitary instance of a plurality of offices in one
individual. Many other examples could be given if it
were necessary, in which one person absorbed half a dozen
or more offices, and thereby acquired a powerful influence,
altogether out of proportion to his merits and wholly
incompatible with the efficiency of the public service.
The manner in which appointments to office were made,
and the utter powerlessness of the people to control the
appointing power led to great abuses, and to a tyrannical
exercise of authority on the part of those who held offices.
Few men are so good or so conscientious that they will
not abuse their authority if they are subject to no control,
and the " insolence of office," of which Shakespeare
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 65
speaks, was very prevalent in the Province of New
Brunswick in the year 1818, and for many years after-
wards. In these days by the aid of a free press and
under the system of appointment, by which the responsi-
bility is placed on the government, no official dares to
presume to abuse his power or to treat the public with
incivility. But such was not the case seventy years ago,
when men were pitch-forked into power and authority
who treated the common people as if they were the dirt
beneath their feet, and regarded those who ventured to
criticize their conduct as seditious persons, who were
almost guilty of rebellion.
There were two circumstances connected with the time
of which I have been speaking, which it is necessary to
mention in this connection. The treaty of peace between
Great Britain and the United States, by which the inde-
pendence of the latter was acknowledged, had left the
boundary question in a very unsatisfactory condition.
The person who represented Great Britain in that treaty
was evidently altogether ignorant of the topography of
the country between the United States and the remaining
British possessions on this continent, and as a consequene
of this, the description of the boundary was of such a
character as to be utterly inexplicable. The boundary line
of the United States was declared to be "from the north-
west angle of Nova Scotia, to wit, that angle which is
formed by a line drawn due north from the source of the
St. Croix Eiver to the highlands which divide those
rivers that empty themselves into the River St. Lawrence
66 LIFE AND TIMES OF
from those which flow into the Atlantic Ocean, to the
northwestermost head of Connecticut River, thence down
along the middle of that river to the 45th degree of north
latitude, etc." The first difficulty which presented itself
in regard to this boundary line was the determination of
which of the rivers that entered Passamaquoddy Bay was
the St. Croix. This was finally determined by a com-
mission, which concluded its labors in 1798, and which
decided that the true St. Croix was the river which now
bears that name. When this matter had been settled
there still remained the further difficulty of discovering
the highlands which divided the rivers which empty
themselves into the River St. Lawrence from those which
flow into the Atlantic Ocean. It has now long been
known that no such highlands exist, and that the search
for them was as vain as the quest for the philosopher's
stone. But the matter for many years continued in
controversy, and the boundary question was not settled
until the Ashburton treaty in the year 1842. After the
war between the United States and Great Britain, which
commenced in 1812, the treaty of peace, which was
arranged at Ghent, made provision for deciding as to the
ownership of the lands in dispute, particularly with refer-
ence to the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay, Grand Manan,
Campobello and other islands which were claimed by
the United States. The treaty provided for the appoint-
ment of two commissioners, one to be selected by his
Britannic Majesty, and one by the President of the United
States, to decide the question. These commissioners were
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 67
also charged With the duty of ascertaining the northwest
angle of Nova Scotia, in order that that part of the bound-
ary might be defined. The commissioners appointed were
Colonel Barclay, who had for his agent the Hon. Ward
Chipman of New Brunswick, and the Hon. John Holmes,
of Massachusetts, for the United States. Their first
meeting was held in September, 1816, and at the opening
of the Legislature in January, 1818, Lieutenant Governor
Smyth was able to congratulate that body on the fact
that the final decision of the commissioners in respect to
the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay had been made, and
that Grand Manan, Campobello and other important
islands had been found to belong to Great Britain ; Moose
Island and two other small islands of no importance
being given to the United States. The fishery question
at the same time became one of great consequence to the
people of the Maritime Provinces. By the treaty of 1783
the people of the United States were allowed to continue
to enjoy unmolested the right to take fish " off Quebec in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and all other places in the sea
where the inhabitants of both countries used at any time
heretofore to fish." And they were also allowed to have
liberty to take fish on such parts of the coast of New-
foundland as British fishermen should use, and also on
the coasts, bays and rivers of all other of His Majesty's
bays and dominions. In addition .to this they had also
liberty to dry their fish in any of the bays of Nova Scotia,
the Magdalen Islands and Labrador. Thus it will be
seen that the treaty of 1783 virtually gave to the people
68 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of the United States concurrent rights of fishing with
the fishermen who were subjects of Great Britain, and
had that state of affairs continued to exist, the fishery
disputes which have since taken place would either never
have arisen, or would have assumed an entirely different
form. But it was held by the British authorities, after
the war of 1812, that the provisions of the treaty of 1783
which related to fishing had been abrogated by the war,
and that new arrangements must be made in regard to
the fisheries. Thus in 1817 a circular from the British
government to the collectors of customs and light dues at
the different ports of the Maritime Provinces stated that
American fishermen were not to be permitted to frequent
the harbors, bays or creeks of the Maritime Provinces,
unless driven into them by actual distress. The difficul-
ties between the two governments in regard to these
rights of fishing finally resulted in the arrangement of a
treaty, which was made at London, between Great Britain
and the United States, on the 20th of October, 1818, and
which was ratified at Washington in the following Janu-
ary. This treaty, which is the one now in force, defined
the rights of the Americans with regard to fishing on our
coasts, and excluded them from our waters within three
marine miles of the coasts, bays and creeks of His
Majesty's dominions. The Americans by this treaty
explicitly renounced forever any liberty before enjoyed or
claimed by them to take, dry and cure fish within three
marine miles of our coasts, bays or harbors. The treaty
defined their rights to enter our bays or harbors to be "for
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 69
the purpose of shelter, of repairing damages therein, of
purchasing wood and obtaining water, and for no other
purpose whatever." The arrangement of this treaty,
which has had such an important bearing on the relations
of Canada and the United States since that time, was an
important event connected with the history of the year
1818.
The revenue of the Province in 1818, and during the
years which followed that period, was subject to great
fluctuations. In 1818 the entire receipts of the Province,
which went into the hands of the Provincial Treasurer,
amounted to a total of 15,348 7s. 6d., while the expen-
diture was 22,859 7s. 9d. Fortunately there was a
large balance from the previous year, so that notwith-
standing the deficit in the revenue, there still remained a
surplus at the close of the year. In 1819 the revenue
received, exclusive of seizures, amounted to 23,338
10s. 8d., while the expenditure was 20,886 16s. lOd.
That year 8,925 in treasury notes were issued, a device
which was frequently resorted to when money was
required. In 1820 the receipts, exclusive of a loan,
amounted to 27,904 18s. 10d., and the expenditure to
20,408 15s. 3d. The revenue sometimes showed a
handsome surplus over the expenditure, and at other
times was deficient, the import trade apparently not being
established on the same sound and stable lines which
prevail at the present day, but much of it being of a
speculative character. It is amusing to contrast the
small sums which were deemed sufficient to defray the
70 LIFE AND TIMES OF
expenses of the Province at that peiiod in comparison
with what is now required even for our mere Provincial
concerns, to say nothing of the amount expended on
Dominion account, and the large sums disbursed by the
municipalities. Small as the grants were for the different
services at that period, it not infrequently happened that
a large part of them were not expended, either in conse-
quence of the lack of money in the treasury, or because
the work for which the grants was made was postponed
to a later day. In 1821 a committee was appointed to
enquire and report what sums of money heretofore granted
remained unpaid, and what would be the disposable funds
of the Province, which had arisen or would be likely to
arise from the revenue in the course of the current year.
This committee found that during the previous two years
no less than 23,732 14s. 4d. of money which had been
appropriated to the public services had not been expended.
Of this sum 1,845 was on account of bounties on fish,
425 was on account of bounties on grain, 2,700 was
money granted for the encouragement of schools and
5,000 was money granted for bye-roads. As the balance
in the Provincial chest was 121 16s. less than the total
of these unexpended grants, the committee could only
report that there were no disposable funds in the treasury.
Thus the public services at that time were maintained in
a very inefficient manner, mainly because of the smallness
of the revenue available for public needs. When we take
into account how much had to be done in the way of
opening up the Province by the construction of roads, the
LEONARD TILLEY. 71
building of bridges, and in other ways, we must admire
the courage of those who undertook to reduce the wilder-
ness into subjection with such inadequate resources.
Nothing but the adaptability of the people of that period
to their circumstances, and their willingness to endure
privations for the sake of living under the British flag,
would have sufficed to do the work which has since been
accomplished. It was fortunate that New Brunswick
had so hardy and self-reliant a population, even if they
were somewhat deficient in political discernment, and
thought too much of the prerogatives of the Crown, for,
after thirty -five years of settlement, the Province was, in
1818, little better than a wilderness, and the conveniences
for travel were of such a character as we should at the
present day regard as utterly inadequate. He would
have been a bold man who would have ventured to
predict that during the seventy years that were to follow,
not only would the constitution of the Province be
entirely changed, but that its material advancement would
be so great that the most distant point in it could be
reached from St. John in the course of a few hours, and
that no county within its boundaries would be without
rapid and regular communication.
The foregoing sketch of the political condition of New-
Brunswick in 1818 is necessarily brief and somewhat
incomplete, because the subject will be more fully devel-
oped as our narrative advances, and as the story of
the means adopted to bring about responsible govern-
ment is related. It is sufficient here to indicate
72 LIFE AND TIMES OF
slightly, and in a general way, the leading features of the
system of government at that period, and to leave the
details to be told as they arise in the course of the
narrative.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 73
CHAPTEE III.
AGITATION FOR A BETTER SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT.
The Province of New Brunswick was always the most
conservative of the British colonies of North America,
and that feature of its condition has been retained until
the present time. In Upper Canada the Loyalist element
was smaller in number than in New Brunswick, and was
mixed largely with immigrants from the United States
who came after the Ilevoluntionary war for the sake of
the fine lands of that Province ; and at a later period a
very large immigration took place from the British Islands
of people who had no particular sympathy with the
views of the Loyalists, and who were imbued with that
spirit of political unrest which had begun to prevail in the
mother country at that period. In the Province of
Quebec, the French element, though conservative during
the French regime, became radical under British rule, and
was always arrayed in opposition to the governing classes,
who were mainly British. Thus the French, in spite of
themselves, became a valuable aid in the regeneration of
the Provinces from the old system of government. In
the Province of Nova Scotia the original settlers were
74 LTFE AND TIMES OF
English, and they were largely reinforced by immigrants
from the New England colonies who came prior to the
Eevolutionary war, and who were in sympathy, to a
large extent, with the principles of the American revolu-
tion. The Loyalists were never as numerous in Nova
Scotia as in New Brunswick, and never possessed one
tithe of the influence there that they possessed here. In
New Brunswick the original settlers from New England,
who resided at Maugerville, Sheffield, and some parts of
the County of Queens, were insignificant in numbers in
comparison with the Loyalists, and they had become so
cowed after their unsuccessful attempt to cast their lot
with the Bevolutionists in the year 1777 that they never
possessed any political importance afterwards. For this
reason, and because of the small dimensions of the immi-
gration from Europe, the Loyalists possessed absolute
control of the government of this Province for a period of
more than half a century after its formation, and if the
matter were now examined into closely, it would be found
that they still possess a preponderating influence in Pro-
vincial affairs.
In those days the term "loyalty" was frequently
mis-used in its application. Instead of being taken as
another word for patriotism and devotion to the flag which
floated over the Province, it was used merely as being
applicable to a condition of mind which impelled a man
to support the existing order of things, whether it was
right or wrong. Nothing seems more absurd to us of the
present day, who look back upon the long dreary period
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 75
of family compact rule, than to find every person who
desired to change this system and to make it more in
accordance with the wishes of the people, denounced as an
innovator, as a seditious person and a disloyal man. Our
ancestors in New Brunswick seem to have had a great
horror of the word " innovation," and any one who could
raise that cry and shout it loudly and frequently enough
was sure to obtain an attentive hearing and a large
following. Yet for all that from the very beginning of
the Province there were signs that many were not satis-
fied with things as they were. There were disputes at
the very foundation of the Oolony over land grants,
which were thought to have been unfairly distributed,
and not in accordance with the wishes of the home
government. There were, likewise, difficulties in regard
to the cost of surveying the lands, and also in reference
to the fees that were exacted upon grants. When the
Legislature was formed the dissatisfaction of many was
practically expressed in riots at the polls, and in the
return to the House of Assembly of members who were
not in sympathy with the ruling classes. As early as
1795 we find great commotion caused in the Province by
a Mr. Glennie, who was a candidate for the representation
of the County of Sunbury, and who addressed a long
speech to the freeholders on their grievances, which was
printed in pamphlet form. In 1802 there were difficul-
ties in regard to matters of appropriation between the
House of Assembly and the Council, which led to a
number .of the members of the House withdrawing them-
76 LIFE AND TIMES OF
selves from their attendance there and going home ; and
these proceedings resulted in the issuing of more
pamphlets for and against the course adopted. In those
days, and for a long time afterwards, the Governors were
in the habit of lecturing the Assembly, as if they were a
set of school boys. This course was commenced by
Governor Carleton, who, in 1795, expressed his indigna-
tion at the Assembly because they refused to pass some
appropriations which had been recommended by him for
the general defence of the Province. At that time, and
for long afterwards, the House of Assembly and the
Council were in disagreement, and this state of affairs
continued more or less down to the time when responsible
government became an acknowledged feature of the
constitution. The home authorities always sided with
the Governor, and reflected severely on the Assembly
whenever that body was so unfortunate as to differ from
the views of His Excellency. The House always claimed
the right to make the appropriations for the public
service, and rejected the claim of the Council to amend
or modify such money bills as were passed by the Assem-
bly. In 1796 the Duke of Portland, who then was at
the head of the department which had the charge of
Colonial affairs, laid down the rule that while the appro-
priation of monies voted was peculiarly within the
province of the Assembly, the directing of the actual
payment of the public accounts and contingencies by the
House of Assembly was an improper encroachment on
the functions of the Executive government.. He con-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 77
demned the practice which had been adopted of inserting
different and distinct, as well as disputed points, in money
bills, and said that persistence in this practice would
result in absolute annihilation of the other deliberative
branch of the Legislature. He quoted a standing order
of the House of Lords, which had been made in 1702, in
which it is declared " that the annexing any clause or
clauses to a bill of aid or supply, the matter of which is
foreign and different from the matter of the said bill, is un-
parliamentary , and tends to the destruction of the constitu-
tion of this government." He added that such matter should
be brought forward as separate bills, thereby admitting a
free and candid discussion. He thought that a steady
adherence to this rule would heal the differences between
the House and the Council. They do not seem to have
healed their differences, however, because a year later,
in June, 1797, the Duke of Portland is again addressing
Governor Carle ton on the subject, and expressing His
Majesty's regret and displeasure that difficulties still
exist between the Council and the Assembly of New
Brunswick. The differences then seem to have arisen in
consequence of the desire of the members of the Assembly
to grant themselves a remuneration for their attendance,
and the Duke of Portland expressed the opinion that such
a measure could only tend to lessen the weight and
dignity of the Assembly and to diminish the reverence
and respect which he hoped the Province would always
show to its Legislature. Another communication, dated
a year, later, June 5th, 1798, from the same nobleman,
78 LIFE AND TIMES OF
expressed still further concern at the differences which
continued to prevail to the injury of the joint interests
of the Crown and the Province. These references show
the nature of the differences which existed between the
Council and the Assembly, but they do not involve those
principles of good government for which New Brunswick
had to strive so earnestly in future years and which were
finally triumphantly successful. We may therefore date
the first awakening of the Assembly to the anomalous
condition of their constitution, and the unsatisfactory,
manner in which they were governed, to the year 1818.
For some years before that time Governor Carleton had
been absent from the Province, and public affairs had
been administered by successive " Presidents," as they
were called, who stood in the place of the Governor, but
who probably had not the ear of the authorities at home
to the same extent. But when a new Governor was
appointed, in the person of General George Stacey Smyth,
a man with very high views of the royal prerogative and
of his own importance, then there began to be that friction
between the Assembly and the Executive which finally
resulted in an entire change of the system. The term
" royal prerogative " was one which had a sweet sound to
many of the old inhabitants of the Province at that period,
they apparently being impressed with the idea that there
was some connection between the maintenance of the
royal prerogative and the maintenance of their liberties.
But when the prerogative came to be used as a cover for
scandals of the worst description, for robbery of the people
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 79
by means of avaricious office holders, and for disregard of
the wishes of the Legislature, then it ceased to be so
popular.
General Smyth adroitly took advantage of his position
as Lieutenant Governor of the Province and endeavored
to manufacture a public opinion hostile to all reform. In
the year 1820, at the opening of the Legislature, we find
him addressing the gentlemen of the Council and the
gentlemen of the House of Assembly as follows :
" It cannot but be a subject of anxiety and regret that
a spirit utterly hostile to our excellent constitution, and
subversive of all order in society is so fully manifest in
various parts of Great Britain, but I trust that the senti-
ments of veneration for His Majesty, and decided deter-
mination to resist all innovation, expressed in the
addresses of the industrious and most respectable classes
of society to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, will
dissipate this, I hope temporary, gloom, an event which
would afford to none a more lively satisfaction than to the
loyal inhabitants of this Province. And it would give
me, gentlemen, much pleasure to have the honor of
conveying to the throne, from you, their sentiments upon
those proceedings, so highly interesting both to His
Majesty and his people."
The trouble to which the Governor thus referred
was the first wave of the reform movement which after-
wards swept over England and buried feudalism beneath
its waters. In 1819 and 1820 the pepple of England
began to think that some change was needed in their
80 LIFE AND TIMES OF
representative system, and the constitutional agitation
which they then commenced for that purpose, is what
Governor Smyth found to be such " a subject of anxiety
and regret," that he asked the Legislature to address His
Majesty on the matter. In reply to this speech of Gov-
ernor Smyth's, the Assembly expressed their unfeigned
sorrow that a spirit of disaffection prevailed in many
parts of Great Britain, and said that "they are astonished
that men can be so blind to the blessings of our glorious
constitution as to attempt the subversion of it." They
trusted, however, "that the loyalty of the better informed
part of the nation will speedily check this evil and avert
from the country the destructive consequences which at
one time were but too much to be apprehended." They
thanked His Excellency for the high opinion he had
expressed of the loyalty of the people of the Province,
and for his offer to convey their sentiments to the throne,
and closed in the following words :
" Far removed from the suggestions of the seditious,
His Majesty's dutiful subjects in this Province are fully
sensible that their happiness here and hereafter must
depend upon the cultivation of the principles of religion
and a just subordination to lawful authority, always
bearing in mind the moral precept 'To Fear God and
Honor the King.' "
The very day this address was passed the House of As-
sembly resolved that a committee be appointed to request
the Council to join the House in an humble address to
His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, expressive of the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 81
sentiments they entertained of "the loyalty of His
Majesty's subjects in New Brunswick, and of their firm
and inviolate attachment to His Majesty's person and
government." A joint address, couched in this strain,
appears to have been agreed to by both Houses, without
any protest being entered against it by any member of
either House, and it was duly forwarded to the Prince
Eegent, as an expression of the sentiments of the people
of New Brunswick in regard to the constitutional agitation
for reform which was then going on in the British
Islands. Such a proof of the slavishness and ignorance
which characterized the proceedings of the Legislature of
the Province of New Brunswick at that time will serve
to emphasize the difficulty which reformers must have
experienced in obtaining any substantial improvement in
the constitution of the Province. Our Tories at that
period, not content with insisting on the maintenance of
the "family compact" and the irresponsible system of
government which prevailed in New Brunswick, must
needs extend the sphere of their influence to the British
Isles, and attempt to give their moral support to the
obstructionist party which sought to perpetuate all the
.monstrous evils of the unreformed British constitution,
by which the whole power of the state was centred in a
few privileged individuals, while the masses were wholly
unrepresented.
In describing the various steps by which the constitu-
tion of the Province was improved until it reached the
form in which it existed prior to the confederation of the
82 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Provinces, it will be convenient to take up each particu-
lar reform separately, and trace its progress from the first
agitation on the subject until the change asked for was
effected.
Among the first of the grievances to which the atten-
tion of the House of Assembly was called in 1818, was
the excessive fees charged on land grants. These fees,
as already stated, amounted to the enormous sum of
11 13s. 4d. on a lot of land not exceeding three hundred
acres, and where a lot of a thousand acres was granted to
ten grantees in severalty, under the scale of fees that then
existed, the amount chargeable was 49 12s. 7d., which
was not very much less than the value of the land itself.
By this system of enormous fees the officials of the Gov-
ernment became enriched, while the settlement of the
Province was discouraged. The House of Assembly, in
1818, passed an address to His Excellency, the Lieuten-
ant Governor, asking for copies of such parts of the royal
instructions as related to the granting of Crown lands and
fees on grants. It appears that the officials had been in
the habit of compelling each applicant for Crown lands
to take out a separate grant, thereby greatly increasing
their profits, whereas the House maintained that the
royal instructions contemplated the granting of lands to
several grantees in a single grant. A committee of the
House, which was appointed to examine the royal
instructions, reported that they could find nothing in the
instructions to justify the system adopted in the Crown
land office, compelling each applicant to take out a sep-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 83
arate grant, and that the table of fees showed that the
instructions contemplated more than one applicant being
included in a grant. They also reported that if this
system was pursued it would be injurious to the Province,
and a prohibition against future settlement. Acting
on this report, the House again requested His Excellency
to furnish them with such parts of the royal instructions
as directed that not more than one grantee should be
included in any one grant. In reply to this, His Excel-
lency said that he had already communicated such parts
of the royal instructions as he deemed necessary, and he
sent them a copy of a letter from Lord Bathurst, relating
to the mode of passing the King's grants. This letter does
not appear in the journals of 1818, but committee of
the House reported that Lord Bathurst did not sufficiently
know the facts in regard to the mode of granting lands in
this Province, and that his letter did not sanction the
system then so universally complained of, compelling
each applicant to take out a separate grant. This was
followed up by a resolution of the House of Assembly for
a joint address, (with the Council) to the Prince Eegent,
asking him to direct that the practice of including several
grantees in one grant, be again adopted. The Council,
however, with its usual obsequiousness to the authority
of the Governor, declined to concur in this address,
whereupon the House requested that official to
transmit their address to the Prince Eegent,
without reference to the Council. This was done and,
the following year, a reply to the address was
84 LIFE AND TIMES OF
received from Lord Bathurst, in which he stated
that he saw no objection to continuing the system
of including a number of grantees in one grant, provided
that in every grant the lands were distinctly appor-
tioned to the several grantees, and that each grantee was
separately and as fully bound to fulfil the conditions of
the grant as to his own lot, as if he had taken it out as his
own particular grant. Thus one important reform was
achieved, which materially reduced the gains of officials,
and made it possible for a number of poor men to unite
in a land grant, thereby saving large sums in fees, and so
assisting in the settlement of the Province.
It has been already stated that under the original
system, with respect to the solemnization of marriages,
the only religious persons authorized to solemnize
marriages were clergymen of the Church of England,
ministers of the Kirk of Scotland, Quakers, and clergymen
of the Koman Catholic church. This was felt to be an
intolerable grievance, because it excluded all dissenters,
so called, that is to say, all who were not in communion
with the Church of England, with the Kirk of Scotland, or
with the Roman Catholic church. Methodists, Baptists,
and all Presbyterians, except those connected with the
Church of Scotland, were excluded from the operation of
this marriage law. The agitation for a change in this
system commenced at an early period, and as early as
1821 a bill passed the House of Assembly, authorizing
all ministers of the gospel to solemnize marriage. The
vote by which this bill was finally passed was a narrow
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 86
one, thirteen "yeas" to eleven "nays," all the ancient
Tories being, as was to be expected, ranged against the
so called innovation. It may be interesting to note that
among those who opposed this just measure were Hugh
Johnston, Harry Peters and Ward Chipman, jr., of St.
John, and John Allen, of the County of York, while John
Wilmot, Charles Simonds and Andrew S. Ritchie, of St.
John, and Peter Fraser, John Dow and Stair Agnew, of
the County of York, were on the side of reform. The
two members for Kings County of that day, John C.
Vail and David B. Whitmore, were against the bill,
while of the Queens County members one, William
Peters, was for it, and the other, Samuel Scovil, was
against it. This bill was defeated in the Council, a fate
that befel many subsequent bills of the same kind in that
body. For several years the House of Assembly con-
tinued to pass the dissenters' marriage bill, and the
Council as steadily to reject it. The opposition to this
measure in the House gradually died away, until in 1830
there was no division taken on its passage, but that made
no difference in regard to the attitude of the Council
towards it, and the bill was rejected, as it had been so
many times before. In 1831 a dissenters' marriage bill
was again passed by the new House of Assembly, which
met that year, and when a committee was appointed to
search the journals of the Council to learn what had
become of their bill, they found the following entry, the
like of which will be found repeated hundreds of times
in the published journals of the Legislative Council. It
86 LIFE AND TIMES OF
is republished here for the purpose of showing how the
business of the Province was done by the Council half a
century ago :
" COUNCIL CHAMBER, 21st March, 1831.
PRESENT.
The Honorable Mr. Chief Justice Saunders, President.
Mr. Justice Bliss, Mr. Shore,
Mr. Justice Botsford, Mr. Justice Chipman,
Mr. Peters, Mr. Robinson,
Mr. Hurd.
" Read a second time, the bill to authorize the minis-
ters of congregations dissenting from the Church of
England to solemnize marriage in the Province.
" On motion resolved, That the further consideration
of this bill be put off for three months."
This was the kind of satisfaction the House of Assem-
bly received when they wished to discover why this
salutary measure, and others of a similar character, were
rejected. Eight old men, sitting in a Council with closed
doors, were able to defeat the best intentions of the popu-
lar branch of the Legislature, and to block the wheels of
progress. Their action in this case was the more absurd
because by an act passed on the 8th of March, 1830, at
the request of the British Government, the Imperial Act
10, George IV., chapter VII, entitled, " An act for the
relief of His Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects," was
made applicable to the Province of New Brunswick, and
all disabilities of every kind removed from persons of
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 87
that faith. The House of Assembly concluded that
nothing would serve to bring about the reform asked for
but to petition the King, and accordingly in 1831, a
petition was prepared in which the grievance with regard
to dissenting Protestant clergymen was duly set forth,
and it was stated that for several years in succession the
House of Assembly had passed a bill to extend the
privilege of celebrating marriage to dissenting clergymen,
but that for reasons unknown to the House such bills had
not been concurred in by the other branch of the Legis-
lature. The petitioners, who described themselves as
"Your Majesty's Faithful Commons," asked that the King
" would be pleased graciously to give instructions to the
administrator of the Government to recommend the
Legislature to pass such bill as he may deem proper to
obtain Your Majesty's royal sanction for the purpose of
extending the privilege of celebrating and solemnizing
marriages, to the regularly ordained and settled clergy of
dissenting congregations in Your Majesty's Province of
Xew Brunswick." At the next meeting of the Legisla-
ture, in 18o2, the various dissenting religious bodies
showed great activity in presenting petitions in favor of
the passing of the dissenters' marriage bill. These
petitions came from every part of the Province, and very
largely from the ministers and adherents of the Wesleyan
Methodist Society. The bill was passed by the House
on the 10th of February, apparently without any opposi-
tion, and went to the Council, where it passed with a
suspending clause, being reserved for His Majesty's
88 LIFE AND TIMES OF
approval. It was supposed that this bill would settle the
dissenters' marriage question, and the Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, Sir Archibald Campbell, seems to have shared in
this belief, for in proroguing the Legislature he said :
" I am particularly gratified to find that the new
marriage act, which has just passed into a law, is
calculated to give a high degree of satisfaction to a large
portion of His Majesty's loyal subjects in this colony."
Nothing more was heard of the act, however, until the
session of 1834, when a despatch was received from His
Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated the
1st of January of that year, in which it was announced
that His Majesty had been advised to withhold his
assent from the bill, on the ground that the act was
confined in its operation to four denominations of
Christians, the Wesleyan Methodists, the Baptists, Pres-
byterian seceeders from the Kirk of Scotland, and Inde-
pendents, and also because before obtaining a license
from the Governor, the minister who desired to solemnize
such marriages must produce a certificate or letters of
ordination, which must be derived from some British
convention, synod, conference or association. In other
words, the act was disallowed because it was not liberal
enough, and thus two years of time were lost, no doubt in
consequence of the act having originally been draw r n in
a restricted form to enable it to pass the Council. Thus
the malign influence of that antiquated and illiberal body
was the means of postponing the operation of the
dissenters' marriage act until the year 1834, when on the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 80
22nd of March, a bill which was in the terms suggested
by the Colonial Secretary, was passed, and the dissenters'
marriage question settled forever on an equitable basis.
The old restrictive system which hindered the trade of
New Brunswick for the first forty years of its existence
has already been referred to. Grievances which rose from
that source were perhaps less felt by the people of this
Province than some others, because the policy which
created that system was a part of the fashion of the
times, and no better arrangement was then understood.
The first blow that was dealt to this policy came in 1822,
when the acts of the Imperial Parliament 3rd, Geo. IV.,
chapters 44 and 45 were passed. Under these acts the
importation of provisions, lumber, cattle, tobacco and
other articles from any foreign country in North and
South America and the West Indies, into ports of British
North America and the British West Indies, was allowed
under a fixed scale of duty, and a free export was allowed
to goods going from all our ports to these countries. The
importation of the productions of foreign countries in
Europe into the ports of British North America was also
permitted, and a schedule of duties annexed. Under these
acts it was arranged that the duties on both imports and
exports were to be collected by the Imperial officers of
customs, and the net revenue thus obtained was to be
placed at the disposal of the Colonial Treasuries. By
these acts .duties were placed on wines, varying from 7 to
10 guineas a tun, in addition to 7| per cent, ad valorem.
This arrangement was a decided gain to New Brunswick,
90 LIFE AND TIMES OF
because, for the first time, it placed the revenue collected
by the Imperial officers under the control of the Legisla-
ture. The first intimation that we have of the change
that had taken place in the status of these duties, was a
message from the Lieutenant Governor to the House of
Assembly, dated 18th of February, 1823, in which he
informed the House that, owing to a representation made
by the Collector of His Majesty's Customs at St. John,
he had, with the advice of His Majesty's Council,
appointed a number of persons to assist in collecting the
duties lately given to the Province by the act of the
Imperial Parliament. On the 20th of February of the
same year, there appeared in the Provincial Treasurer's
accounts, an acknowledgment of the receipt of 422 3s.
from Henry Wright, the Collector of Customs, for duties
collected by him under the acts of Parliament. During
the same session returns were laid before the House of
the accounts of the Collector and Controller of His
Majesty's Customs in this Province, of the duties received
both at St. John and St. Andrews, and thus a new era in
the history of our commerce was commenced.
The acts of the Imperial Parliament 6th, Geo. IV.,
chapters 73 and 114,- went still farther in the way of
removing restrictions from Colonial trade. These acts
provided that the duties imposed under them should be
paid by the Collector of Customs into the hands of the
Treasurer or Keceiver General of the colony, to be
applied to such uses as were directed by the Local
Legislature of such colony, exception being made in
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 91
regard to produce of duties payable to His Majesty,
under any act passed prior to the 18th year of his late
Majesty, George III. This exception is important for
the purpose of illustrating the pernicious and absurd
system under which duties had been collected. Even so
late as the year 1833, Messrs. Simonds and Chandler, our
delegates to the Imperial Government, were complaining
that duties were collected at the several Custom Houses in
New Brunswick upon wine, molasses, coffee and pimento,
under the provisions of the acts of Parliament 6th,Geo. II. }
chapter 13 ; 4th, Geo. III., chapter 15, and 6th, Geo. III.,
chapter 52, amounting to upwards of 1000 sterling
annually, which duties were not accounted for to the
Legislature, and that it -was not known to the House of
Assembly by whom and to what purpose these duties were
applied. The reply to this on the part of the Imperial
Government was, that in pursuance of the directions con-
tained in the statutes themselves, the duties levied under
them were remitted to the exchequer in England, in aid
of the expenses incurred for the defence of the British
Colonies in North America. Thus ten years after the
British Government had undertaken to remit the duties
collected in the colonies to the exchequers of the colonies
in which the money was collected, there still remained a
considerable revenue, collected under old and obscure acts
of Parliament, which was held back, and the destination
of which was not known, until disclosed in the manner
stated to the delegates sent to England to obtain the
redress of New Brunswick cn-ievances.
<2 LIFE AND TIMES OF
In the meantime, however, the money collected for
duties under the acts 3rd, Geo. IV., and 6, Geo. IV., began
to flow into the exchequer, but it was found that the
amount thus received was much smaller than the Legisla-
ture had a right to expect, in consequence of the large
reductions that were made by the Imperial collectors for
their own salaries and expenses. The Customs officials
of that day were, for the most part, men whose only
concern was to fill their own pockets. They were all
natives of the British Islands and had been appointed, not
because of their merit, but through influence, and a few
of them for reasons not fit to be mentioned. Some of
them, when in their cups, were accustomed to boast that
they had royal blood in their veins, and their boasts
derived some probability from a family resemblance,
which at least was striking, and from the notoriously
immoral conduct of George IV., both as a prince and a
king. Such men were not likely to aid the Legislature
of New Brunswick in its efforts to keep down the expense
of the Customs system. In February, 1827, Mr.
Simonds, from the committee appointed to take into
consideration all matters affecting the commercial
interests of the Province, submitted a report, in which
it was shown that, by an abstract of duties received by
the several collectors of customs in the Province, it
appeared that 18,278 2s. 3|d. sterling had been collected
between the 5th of January, 1826, and the 5th of Janu-
ary, 1827, under the act 6th, Geo. IV., chapter 114,
which was equal in the currency of the Province to the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 93
sum of 20,309 11s. 5d., but that of the above sum only
11.613 13s. 8d. had been paid into the hands of the
Provincial Treasurer and his deputies, leaving still in the
hands of the collectors of customs, unaccounted for, the
sum of 8,695 17s. 8|d. The report recommended that
the House take immediate steps to ascertain by what
authority the collectors in this Province have been
induced to retain so large a proportion to the whole
amount of duties collected by them. This report was
accepted and ordered to lie on the table.
This subject had already been one of the matters dealt
with by the committee of correspondence in a letter to the
Province agent in England, and it was a matter in regard
to which our people felt keenly. At that time the
revenue of the Province was small, and it seemed absurd
that the Customs officials should be able to take, in
salaries, about one half the amount of the revenue they
collected. A few days later a message was received from
the Lieutenant Governor, Sir Howard Douglas, laying
before the House a copy of a despatch from Earl Bath-
urst, dated the 20th of April, 1826, enclosing a copy of a
minute of the Lord Commissioners of the Treasury, on the
subject of the establishment of the Customs in North
America and the West Indies, and the payment of the
expenses of this service out of the produce of the
duties of customs, which they were appointed to collect.
On the 2nd of March, 1827, a series of resolutions were
passed in regard to this message, and others on the same
subject, ending with a humble address to the Lieutenant
94 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Governor, praying that His Excellency would lay the
resolutions in question before His Majesty. Sir Howard
Douglas, on receiving these resolutions, intimated to the
House of Assembly that the proper method of approach-
ing His Majesty on this subject was by way of address,
and the House complying with this suggestion, prepared
an address, which was adopted on the 6th of March of
the same year. This address contains, in a brief form, a
statement of the grievances which the House considered
the Province was suffering in consequence of the existing
arrangements with regard to the disposition of the monies
derived from the customs duties. In it the members
thanked His Majesty for the relief of the coasting trade,
especially in this Province, by the abolition of the Custom
House fees, and said that they regard it as an additional
proof of that fostering care which His Majesty and
Parliament have so often evinced for the welfare of this
i
part of his extended dominions. They say that they
cannot for a moment believe that it was ever intended to
lessen those benefits by taking from the Colonial
Legislature the right of appropriating the whole of the
duties levied upon the people of the Province, They
add that it was not without feelings of extreme regret
that the House heard, just before the close of the last
session, that the Custom House officers had received
instructions from the Commissioner of Customs to retain
for their salaries a large portion of the duties collected by
them. As no official communication had been received
by His Majesty's Government in the Province relating
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 95
to these instructions, the House considered this order
which so materially affected their dearest interests, and
which appeared to them at variance with the acts of
Parliament, to have been intended as a temporary
arrangement, to continue in operation only until the
subject had been submitted to the House, in which they
humbly conceived the appropriation of the Provincial
revenue for the payment of these salaries or for any
other purpose should originate. The address then goes
on to say that as the services of the Custom House
officers are principally required for carrying into effect
the laws of trade and navigation, it is the opinion of the
House that the more proper mode of paying for these
services would be by charges on shipping. The address
recites the fact already stated, that of the 20,000
collected under acts of Parliament for the previous year
by the officers of customs, but little more than half had
gone into the Provincial Treasury, the balance having
been retained by the officers for their salaries. The
enormous disproportion of this scale of remuneration, as
compared to that of the Provincial officers, was shown by
the statement in the address that the Provincial revenue
of 30,000 was collected at an expense of about 2,000'
and by a further statement that these Imperial duties,
which cost so much to collect, could have been collected
by the Provincial officers of revenue with little or no
additional charge. The address closed by expressing the
hope that His Majesty would grant the desired relief by
making such reductions as were practical in the customs
96 LIFE AND TIMES OF
establishment, and by causing the whole of the revenue,
which might hereafter be collected in the Colony, under
the provisions of any act of the Imperial Parliament, to
be placed at the disposal of the Provincial Assembly.
In 1828 this subject was again before the Legislature,
and the chairman of the Committee of Privileges reported,
as a result of an inspection of the returns of the customs
of St. John and St. Andrews, that the whole of the duties
collected at the port of St. John under the acts of the
Imperial Parliament, had amounted during the year to
15,231 16s. 10d., from which sum the officers of
customs had retained 4,135 10s. 9fd., leaving 11,096
7s. Jd. as the net amount of duties. The whole amount
collected in customs duties at St. Andrews in 1827 was
6,007 19s. 2d., of which sum 2,382 was retained for
salaries. These sums, it must be remembered, are all in
sterling money. It was found by the same report that
the salary of the collector at St. John was 1,500 sterling,
or considerably more than twice as much as the salary of
the present collector of the port of St. John, the revenue
of which- now approaches $1,000,000 a year. The con-
troller of the port then received 700 sterling, or more
than double the salary of the present surveyor of the
port of St. John, who is the second officer in the service.
The other salaries were in the same proportion ; two
surveyors and searchers receiving 400 sterling each, the
warehouse keeper 300 sterling, and the indoor officers
from 270 to 150. The coUector at St. Andrews
received 800 sterling, the controller 400, and the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 97
searcher 300. These salaries were justly considered to
be excessive, and would be far too much even at the
present day, when the business has so greatly increased.
No answer was received during the session of 1828 from
the British Government to the address which had been
forwarded the previous year, but in 1829 a reply came.
This reply, which was a lengthy document, can only be
regarded as a piece of special pleading. After reciting
the language of the acts, the reply states that it is the
opinion of the law officers of the Crown that the salaries
of the customs officers in the case of the duties raised,
under 6th, Geo. IV., chapter 114, as in that of those
received under former acts, are legally payable out of the
gross produce, and that the balance alone, after such pay-
ment, is to be paid over to the Colonial officers. The reply
also pointed out that fees to a large amount, heretofore
paid to the Naval officers in the several Colonies had
been abolished, and that the compensation to the officers,
in lieu of fees, was then paid out of the revenue of Great
Britain. It stated also, that His Majesty's Government
had consented that the Crown revenues would continue
to be charged with the incidental expenses of the collec-
tion of the customs, and with the compensation which
has been found necessary to assign to the customs
officers, whose salaries have been reduced ; and if there
should be any Colony in which the salaries of the officers
exceeded the amount of fees formerly levied, it was not
intended that the excess should be borne by the Colony.
With these qualifications, however, the reply stated
98 LIFE AND TIMES OF
that it appeared to His Majesty's Government as
not unreasonable, that the Colonies should either
acquiesce in the 1 deduction, from the duties received
in the Colony, of the adequate salaries now fixed
for the officers, or should themselves make a per-
manent provision for the officers to that amount. The
reply states that by the adoption of either alternative,
the additional expense thrown upon the Mother Country
will not be extravagant, and the Customs officers enjoying
salaries which are considered moderate, will still be placed
in that state of independence which is essential to the due
discharge of their duty.
This reply was accompanied by a detailed statement of
the charge for salaries heretofore defrayed by fees levied
in this Province, and that now proposed to be borne out
of the duties collected in the Colonies, and also the
salaries, compensations and expenses proposed to be borne
by the Crown, or out of the revenue of the United
Kingdom, under the new arrangement which was to take
effect from the 5th of January, 1829. It appeared from
this statement that prior to the year 1826, 9,133 7s. Id.
sterling, was paid in fees, and 509 paid by the Crown
in the shape of salaries. In 1826, the same amount as
that formerly paid in fees, was paid by the Colony, and
1,086 3Jd. was paid by the Crownf^in the shape of
salaries and incidental charges. It was now proposed
that the sum of 6,397 should be paid for salaries out of
the Colonial duties, and the sum of 1,636 3s. 3d. paid
by the Crown for salaries and incidental charges. In a
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 99
financial point of view this was a more favorable arrange-
ment for the Province than the one that had previously
existed, saving as it did almost 3,000 of the Customs
revenues, which were to go into the Provincial exchequer ;
but as the House of Assembly of New Brunswick was
contending for the principle that they alone had the right
to dispose of the revenues which were collected in the
Province, it was unsatisfactory. Therefore it was
resolved unanimously by the House, that this settlement
of the matter proposed by the British Government could
not be accepted. The House said that in unanimously
coming to this determination they did so on the principle
that the House of Assembly are the sole constitutional
judges of the proper compensation to be afforded public
officers when their salaries are to arise from taxation
within the Province, and that although the House are
well satisfied of the necessity of making proper provision
for officers of the Customs, and will be at all times ready
to appropriate a reasonable sum for that purpose, when
the revenues are left to the disposal of the Legislature,
they felt bound to say that the scale proposed was far
beyond what the circumstances of the country would
admit, and out of all proportion to the allowances made
for similar services by the General Assembly.
This manly resolution was a crude expression of the
sentiments of a vast majority of the people of New-
Brunswick, although it must not be forgotten that the
Council took no part in these remonstrances against
excessive salaries, and declined to stand up for constitu-
100 LIFE AND TIMES OF
tional usage, thus showing themselves to be wholly
subservient to the wishes of the officials as they had been
in every instance where the interests of the people and
those of the official classes came in conflict.
No progress seems to have been made in respect to the
matter of Customs salaries during the year 1830, but it
appears by the returns that for the year ending 5th of
January, 1830, the Customs duties collected in the
Province amounted to 16,616 18s. lid. sterling, from
which was deducted for salaries 7,073 6s., leaving a
balance of 9,543 12s. lid. Thus it appears that in
that year the salaries of the Customs officials amounted
to about 40 per cent, of the whole sum collected by
them, a scale of remuneration which would seem very
absurd at the present day.
In March, 1831, a series of resolutions was moved
by Mr. Partelow in reference to the King's casual revenue
and to Customs salaries. These resolutions, which need
not be recited, announced the desire of the Legislature to
provide for the whole civil list, including the Customs
establishment, and asked for returns showing the salaries
which had been annually received by the several Custom
house establishments in the Province, for the payment
of their officers and clerk?, since the Imperial acts for the
abolition of fees went into operation. These resolutions
were carried and ordered to be laid before the President.
At a later day, during the same session, an address was
adopted by the House upon the subject of the Custom
House establishment in this Province, which was ordered
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 101
to be sent to the Lieutenant Governor, so that it might
be forwarded to His Majesty. This address recited the
dissatisfaction that so uniformly prevailed at the circum-
stance of such large sums being annually withheld by
the officers of Customs without the consent of the
Legislature. It stated that the Provincial officers, such
as the Provincial Treasurer, whose duties were far more
arduous, received much smaller salaries than those given
to the Customs officials. The principal object of the
address, however, was to place before His Majesty a
scale of salaries which the House deemed sufficient for
the service, and to ask that this scale be adopted. The
Assembly offered to make a permanent annual grant to
His Majesty of 4,250 sterling, for the payment of the
Customs officers, either in gross or in such other way as
His Majesty might direct. This scale of salaries gave
the Collector of the port of St. John 700 sterling a year,
which was a larger salary than this official now enjoys ;
the Controller was to receive 400 sterling, a larger salary
than the surveyor of the port now has. The whole cost
of the St. John Customs establishment was to be brought
down to 1,930. The Miramichi Custom House was to
be maintained for 450 ; that of St. Andrews for 990,
the Collector there receiving a salary of 400, while the
other salaries were reduced in the same proportion, so
that the total sum for salaries and incidentals was brought
down to 4,250 sterling, equal to 4,903 16s. lOd.
currency, or about $20,000 of the money of the present
day.
102 LIFE AND TIMES OF
This proposal brought a favorable reply, which was
addressed from Downing street, on the 5th January, 1832,
by Lord Howick, who afterwards, as Earl Gray, was
Secretary of State for the Colonies, and had a great deal
to do with the negotiations between New Brunswick and
the Mother Country in the matter of building a line of
railway from Halifax to Quebec.
It was fortunate for the people of New Brunswick that
a Liberal Government had come into power in England
prior to this time, and that the old vested interests which
were thought to be superior to the rights of the people,
were beginning to be looked upon with less favor than
had been the case formerly. Lord Howick, in his
despatch, stated that the Lord Commissioners of His
Majesty's Treasury were willing at once to accede to the
proposal of the Legislative Assembly of New r Brunswick
to make a permanent grant to His Majesty of 4,250
sterling per annum to the Custom House establishment
in New Brunswick. Their Lordships were also of the
opinion that the present scale of salaries ought to be
reduced, but they were not yet possessed of all the infor-
mation which they required to enable them to determine
on the amount of reduction, either of the number or
salaries of the officers, which could be effected without
impairing the efficiency of the department. They
promised, however, that at an early period they would
revise the Customs establishments in all the ports of the
North American Colonies, with a view to fix them on a
reasonable and moderate scale. This was a very satis-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 103
factory despatch, and although the arrangement was not
carried out immediately, yet it became operative in due
course, in the latter part of the year 1835. An act was
passed in March of that year, by the Legislature of New
Brunswick which declared that " it is one of the most
inherent and unquestionable rights of the General
Assembly of this Province to dispose of the whole amount
of all duties, taxes and supplies collected within the
same." The act then went on to declare that His
Majesty's faithful and loyal subjects of the Assembly of
New Brunswick have freely and voluntarily resolved to
give a grant to the King's most excellent Majesty, his
heirs and successors, towards providing for the Custom
House establishment in this Province ; that the principal
officers of the Customs of this Province are authorized to
retain the annual sum of 4,250 sterling, out of the
monies arising from the duties which they may collect
under the acts of the Imperial Parliament, the surplus
to be paid over to the Provincial Treasurer quarterly.
Thus was vindicated the principle for which our House of
Assembly had so steadily contended, and the right of
that body to dispose of the entire revenues collected in
the Province in whatever manner they saw fit, was freely
admitted by the special confirmation and ratification of
the act by order of the King in Council, dated 30th of
September, 1835.
It is a singular fact that while the House of Assembly
contended so strongly for its right to appropriate all the
monies collected by the Imperial Custom House officers
104 LIFE AXD TIMES OF
in this Province, it seems to have ignored or forgotten
the still more important question of the right of taxation
which was involved in this matter. The contest between
the Mother Country and the thirteen Colonies was the
result of an attempt on the part of the British Govern-
ment to impose Customs duties on the Colonists, and the
contention of the Colonists, which they successfully
maintained as the result of a long and bloody war, was
that there should be no taxation without representation.
This principle was so far admitted by the British
Government, that in 1778 an act was passed declaring
that from and after its passing "the King and Parliament
of Great Britain will not impose any duty or tax assess-
ment whatever, payable in any of His Majesty's Colonies,
excepting only such duties as it may be expedient to
impose for the regulation of commerce." In spite of this
very plain provision it has already been seen that the Im-
perial Customs establishment of New Brunswick, and the
other North American Colonies of Great Britain, continued
to collect duties, which, whether they were necessary for
the regulation of commerce, or merely for the purpose of
raising a revenue, were entirely in opposition to the
principle that there should be no taxation without
representation.
The indifference of the House of Assembly of New
Brunswick in regard to this particular phase of the
question must be ascribed to defects in the political
education of the people, who had been so much accus-
tomed to regard the royal prerogative as sacred and the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 105
Imperial Parliament as supreme, that they failed to
recognize the fact that the rights of the people of New
Brunswick were being seriously interfered with by the
Imperial legislation which provided for the maintenance
of Customs establishments.
There were indeed many grave abuses and difficulties
in connection with the collection of two sets of duties by
two sets of officers on the same goods imported into this
Province. In general such a condition of things was
only made tolerable by the liberal manner in which the
tariff of duties was interpreted by the officials, yet there
were sometimes collisions between the Provincial and
Imperial officers which led to difficulties. An instance
of this was presented to the notice of the British Gov-
ernment in 1833 by Messrs. Chandler andSimonds, when
they went to England as a deputation on the subject of
the grievances of the Province. They stated that,
although the revenue laws of the Province and the
Imperial acts specified the manner in which the proceeds-
of seizures made by the officers of Customs and
Provincial officers should be disposed of, collisions had
taken place between these officials, and instances had
occurred of seizures by the officers of His Majesty's
Customs of articles which had been previously seized by
the Provincial revenue officers, and condemned and sold
by them. The delegates pointed out that unless a remedy
was applied to proceedings of this nature, the Provincial
revenue laws for the prevention of smuggling, would, so
far as they applied to articles which were liable to
106 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Parliamentary duties, become entirely nugatory. This
matter was brought to the notice of the proper officers by
the British Government, and from that time the com-
plaints on the subject became less frequent.
It was not, however, until the year 1848 that the
whole complicated system of collecting double duties by
two sets of officers was swept away. The history of the
legislation which brought this about and which resulted
in England becoming a free trade country, does not
properly belong to the narrative which I have in hand.
The fall of the Imperial Customs system in the Colonies
was due, not so much to any attacks that were made
upon it from without, as to its own inherent weakness
and inefficiency. The year 1846 was a memorable epoch
in the commercial history of the United Kingdom, and
from that time the old order of things began to pass away.
The Imperial Customs establishments in the Colonies
were abolished by legislation, which was passed in 1846,
'and the officers who had been charged with the duty of
collecting the Parliamentary revenue were either pensioned
or removed to other positions. The collector of the port
of St. John, Mr. H. Bowyer Smith, was at this time
placed on a retiring allowance, and the only Imperial
officers of that establishment retained here were the
Controller of Customs and Navigation Laws and a few
other officials whose duty it was to regulate the shipping
interests, which was still regarded as an Imperial concern.
A few years later even this feature of the old Customs
system was abolished, and the interests of the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 107
shipping were entrusted to Provincial officers, who from
that time to the present, have done their duty in a
manner not less efficient than their predecessors.
Mention has already been made of the singular
constitution of the Council of this Province, which com-
bined both executive and Legislative functions. The
Council was a body wholly irresponsible, but quite
powerful enough, with the assistance of the Lieutenant
Governor, to defeat the wishes of the popular branch of
the Legislature, whenever it chose to stand in the way of
progressive Legislation. The arbitrary conduct of this
body had always been a subject of complaint, both by the
people at large and the members of the House of
Assembly, because, while the Council was constituted as
it was, it was felt that legislation was wholly at the
mercy of an irresponsible body, which had little or no
sympathy with the wishes of the people.
A very important change was made in 1833 with
respect to the Council, which first came to the knowl-
edge of the House by a message dated llth of
February of that year. The Lieutenant Governor
informed the House of Assembly that His Majesty had
been pleased by his royal commission to appoint two
separate and distinct Councils in the Province, to be
respectively called the Legislative Council and the
Executive Council, and had vested in the Legislative
Council all the powers heretofore given to the Council of
the Province as far as regarded the enacting of laws, and
in the Executive Council all the other powers heretofore
108 LIFE AM) TIMES OF
exercised -by the Council originally appointed. It is not
known by what influence this important change was
brought about, but it may be inferred that it came as a
result of representations made by the Lieutenant Gov-
ernor himself, at the instance of one or two of his most
trusted advisers. It was stated in a communication to
the British Government by Messrs. Simonds and Chand-
ler, in June, 1833, that the change had been advised,
determined upon and carried into effect without the
knowledge, advice or consent of the late Council, or
the concurrence of the Legislature, and it was objected to
on that ground. The delegates maintained that the
established constitution of the Colony should not have
been changed or modified by His Majesty's Government
without the concurrence of the Legislature itself. It is
a singular proof of the political infancy of our Provincial
members of Assembly at that period that a change so
obviously necessary in the interests of good Government
should have been considered improper, no matter in what
manner it may have been brought about. These
members ought to have understood very clearly that
while the Council continued to exercise both Legislative
and Executive functions, no member of the House of
Assembly could ever become a member of the Executive
Council or take any active part in the administration of
the affairs of the Government. The House of Assembly,
prior to that time, had been merely a body, free from
executive responsibility, charged with the duty of
guarding the public purse, and therefore coming into
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 109
constant collision with the Governor and his advisers, in
consequence of their refusal to grant money, which the
Governor deemed necessary for the maintenance of the
public services of the Province.
On the 23rd of February, 1833, the Lieutenant
Governor sent to the House of Assembly the despatch
relative to the constitution of the Legislative and
Executive Councils. In this document it was declared
that the Executive Council should consist of five members,
and that three of such members should constitute
a quorum, for the transaction of business. The five
members appointed Executive Councillors at this time
were Thomas Baillie, the Surveyor General, William F.
Odell, the Provincial Secretary, Frederick P. Eobinson,
George Frederick Street, Advocate General, and John
Simcoe Saunders. Messrs. Baillie and Eobinson had
been members of the old Council, but the other members
of the Executive named w r ere new men. The document
by which these gentlemen were appointed members of
the Executive Council declared that in the absence of the
Lieutenant Governor or of the officer administering the
Government for the time being, the member of the
Council whose name should be first on the list should
preside in said Council. It was also, declared that the
members of the Executive Council, as well as of the
Legislative Council, should hold their office during His
Majesty's pleasure. The new Legislative Council, as
constituted on the llth of February, 1833, consisted of
ten members, three of whom, Messrs. Baillie, Kobinson
HO LIFE AND TIMES OF
and Saimders, were members of the Executive Council,
Chief Justice Saunders, who had been originally appointed
a member of the Council in 1793, being President.
Several members of the old Council were dropped from
the list, among them being Judges Bliss, Botsford and
Chipman, and the Lord Bishop of Nova Scotia, who had
attended but once as a member of the Council seven
years before. It is worthy of mention in this connection
that, from the time of the first establishment of the
Council in 1784 up to the period with which we are now
dealing, the public had been wholly without information
in regard to the proceedings of that body. Its meetings
were held with closed doors ; no member even of the popu-
lar branch of the Legislature was allowed to be present
at its deliberations, and the only information in regard
to its doings that reached the outside world was when a
Committee of the House was appointed to search the
journals of the Council for the purpose of discovering
what had become of some bill, which after being passed
by the House of Assembly as a result of much delibera-
tion and long debate, had disappeared in the Council, to
be heard of no more.
In 1831, the sum of 500 was granted by the Legisla-
ture for the purpose of defraying the expenses, of
arranging, compiling and printing the journals of the
Legislative Council, from the commencement of its
existence to the session of 1830. In 1832 this was
supplemented by a further grant of 210 15s. for the
payment of the balance due for arranging, compiling and
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. Ill
printing the journals of the Legislative Council. The
result of this grant was the publication of two volumes
containing all the proceedings of the Legislative Council
from the beginning, and then the public for the first time
learned the manner in which the business of that body
had been conducted, and the amount of regard which was
paid to their wishes, as expressed by the action of their
representatives in the House of Assembly.
112 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER IV.
THE CASUAL AND TERRITORIAL REVENUE.
The abuses connected with the Crown Land department
naturally attracted a larger amount of attention than any
others, in the Legislature of the Province. It has already
been explained that the revenues derived from the Crown
lands of the Province were not under the control of the
Legislature, and were expended without regard to its
wishes. This was a very practical grievance, and our
ancestors, who were little given to theorizing in regard
to systems of Government, made the Crown Land office
the main object of attack for many years.
The question of the control and management of the
Crown lands was one that involved many features, so
that to deal with them fully would require a larger space
than is necessary to give to the matter in this volume.
One grievance, which was felt to be an important one,
was that in connection with the collection of quit rents.
The grants of land originally given to the first settlers of
this Province provided for the payment of a certain
annual sum in the shape of quit rents. It appears that
when these grants were made the grantees had no idea
' SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 113
that the provision for quit rents would ever be enforced,
looking upon it merely as a nominal acknowledgment of
the sovereignty of the Crown. But in the year 1830 an
attempt was made to collect these rents, and it brought
on a very unpleasant state of affairs between the Lieuten-
ant Governor on the one side and the House of Assembly,
representing the Province, on the other. The quit rent
grievance formed the subject of numerous addresses to
His Majesty. It was one of the matters entrusted to
Messrs. Chandler and Siinonds, who were sent as a deputa-
tion to England on the subject of grievances in 1833.
The collection of quit rents had at that time been
suspended, but the British Government informed the
delegates that unless the Assembly should be disposed to
enter into some arrangement for a permanent civil list,
on the relinquishment by the Crown of quit rents
throughout the Province, there would be no alternative
but to resume their collection. Finally a bill was passed
in 1835, in which the sum of 1,200 currency was
granted to His Majesty, in commutation and full discharge
of all quit rents and arrears of quit rents then due or to
become due, reserved in any grants or letters patent from
the Crown, of lands within the Province of New Bruns-
wick. This annual sum of 1,200 currency was to be
applied by His Majesty towards making and improving
roads and bridges within the Province. This was a
solution of the difficulty which gave the Province
itself the benefit of the quit rents, and which might have
been reached earlier without the amount of negotia-
H
114 LIFE AND TIMES OF
tion and correspondence which was expended upon it.
Under the old system by which the Crown lands were
regulated, large areas of the Province of New Brunswick
were held as reserved lands for the avowed purpose of
supplying masts for His Majesty's navy. It was always
felt that the existence of these large reserves was a great
hindrance to settlement, because land was thus locked
up which was required for actual settlers, and which
might have very well been opened without at all inter-
fering with the naval establishment.
In 1819 a Committee of the House of Assembly was
appointed for the purpose of inquiring into the subject of
reserved lands, in Charlotte and Northumberland Coun-
ties. The report of this committee showed that consider-
able areas of these lands consisted of hardwood land,
suitable for settlement, and not in any sense valuable for
the purpose of growing masts for His Majesty's navy.
The Council was requested to join in an address to His
Majesty, asking to have these lands opened up to settle-
ment, but it declined to do so. As the Council would
take no part in this movement, the House of Assembly
had to proceed on its own responsibility, and during
the session of 1820, an address was prepared to be
forwarded to His Eoyal Highness, the Prince Eegent, on
the subject of these reserved lands. During the session
of 1821 a letter was received from Earl Bathurst,
acknowledging the receipt of the address from the House
of Assembly, and stating that the matter had been
referred to the Surveyor General of Woods and Forests
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 115
in North America, for the purpose of ascertaining from
him whether the lands in question abounded with pine
.so as to make their reservation important in the public
interest. The Surveyor General of Woods and For-
ests in America was ex-Governor Sir John Wentworth,
who, at the time Earl Bathurst wrote the communication
in question, was dead, although the news of his death had
not then reached England. The position of Surveyor
General of Woods and Forests, which he held for many
years, was a sort of sinecure office and was not filled after
his death. As Sir John Wentworth was dead, and
therefore unable to give his opinion as to the reserved
lands, in March, 1821, a committee was appointed to
wait upon the Lieutenant Governor in regard to their
reservation, asking him whether any person had been
appointed Surveyor of Woods and Forests in North Am-
erica, and, if any, what steps had been taken to convey to
His Majesty's ministers the information relative to the
reserves in Charlotte, referred to in Lord Bathurst's letter.
In February, 1822, a communication was received from
Lord Bathurst, stating that His Majesty had caused
inquiries to be made as to the state of the timber on the
several reserves in Charlotte County, and as it appeared \S
that they contained a considerable quantity of timber
most valuable for naval purposes, His Majesty did not
feel that he could accede to the wishes of the Assembly, \
or abandon the reserves for the purpose of allotting them
to settlers. This disposed of the subject for the time
being, but it was by no means lost sight of in the subse-
116 LIFE AND TIMES OF
quent agitation in regard to other branches of the" Crown
land service.
During the session of 1819, another matter was
brought to the attention of the House, which formed the
subject of a long and acrimonious dispute with the home
Government. On motion of Mr. Colin Campbell, one of
the members for Charlotte County, it was resolved that
an humble address be presented to the Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, stating that the House of Assembly had learned
with surprise and regret of the bonds which were taken
in the office of the Deputy Surveyor of Woods for one
shilling a ton on licenses to cut and ship pine timber in this
Province. The House of Assembly expressed the
opinion that this measure, if persisted in, must prove
ruinous to the timber trade of the Province. The resolu-
tions also requested that His Excellency should inform
the House, if a recent instruction had been received from
His Majesty's ministers, requiring such bonds to be
taken, and to what purpose the large sums arising there-
from were to be appropriated.
Lieutenant Governor Smyth, in reply, stated that in
consequence of representations made to the Government
in England of the great and unwarrantable destruction
committed in His Majesty's woods in this Province,
positive orders were issued by the Lord Commissioners of
the Treasury forbidding any license to be granted for
cutting timber, except under the sanction of the Lieuten-
ant Governor, first obtained. He stated that these
orders had been communicated to the Council, who, after
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 117
deliberate consideration, arranged and recommended a
system which, in their opinion, might effectually prevent
the recurrence of similar mischiefs in future. The
shilling a ton, he said, formed a part of that system which
had been transmitted for the consideration of His Majesty,
and bonds had been taken to secure the payment of that
sum in case it should eventually be demanded. The
money which might arise from the permission to cut
timber, as well as all other sums of money which might
accrue to His Majesty from the sale, or other disposition
of property belonging to the Crown in this Province, was
to be appropriated to such uses as His Majesty might be
pleased to direct.
This reply involved a declaration to the members, that
the King could do what he pleased with the Crown lands
of New Brunswick, and that such a rate of taxation might
be imposed upon those who desired to cut timber in this
Province as would effectually put an end to the trade.
It also involved the proposition that the money arising
from the sale or rents of the Crown land in New Bruns-
wick belonged to the King alone, and might be disposed
of by hirn in any manner he saw fit, without any regard
whatever to the wishes of the Legislature. The House
of Assembly was not disposed to submit meekly to this
rebuff, and, a few days later, it was resolved that the
system which required bonds to be taken for the payment
of one shilling a ton on all pine timber manufactured in
the Province, was a measure highly injurious to its trade,
and in the opinion of the House, not contemplated by the
118 LIFE AND TIMES OF
instructions of His Majesty's ministers, communicated to
the House in the message of the Lieutenant Governor.
The House of Assembly also expressed the opinion that
the instructions referred to were only intended to prevent
the destruction of pine trees fit for naval purposes, and
that this object could have been carried into effect without
injury to the numerous classes of His Majesty's subjects
employed in manufacturing and shipping timber to the
mother country.
This resolution appears to have greatly annoyed
Lieutenant Governor Smyth, who was a gentleman who
seems to have had no small opinion of himself and of
the office which he held. In a message which he com-
municated to the House of Assembly a few days later, he
said that he had read with surprise and concern the
resolution of the House, animadverting upon the
conduct of His Majesty's Executive Government in the
Province. He expressed his belief that the resolution
had been passed without due consideration, and stated
that, as the business in question was a matter belonging
exclusively to the Executive, the House should rescind
the resolution, which was the subject of his complaint.
This message was taken into consideration by the House
on the same day, and Mr. Humbert, of St. John, who
appears to have been one of the Lieutenant Governor's
friends, moved a resolution that, as the system adopted
by His Majesty's Government in this Province, for the
payment of one shilling a ton on pine timber, was not
necessarily within the consideration of the House of
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 119
Assembly, any resolve of the House on the said system
may be deemed an improper interference with His
Majesty's prerogative. The resolution ended by
declaring that the resolve, of which the Lieutenant
Governor complained, should not be retained on the
journals of the House.
Fortunately there was enough manliness in the House
of Assembly to reject this absurd resolution, which was
defeated by a vote of 19 to 4; the four members who
voted for it being Mr. Humbert, of St. John, Mr. Myles
and Mr. Wilmot, of Sunbury, and Mr. Allen of York.
The Lieutenant Governor seems to have been greatly
annoyed at the refusal of the House of Assembly to
comply with his request, and on the following day he
came down and dissolved the House with the following
words. " It was with great concern that I noticed your
proceedings in a measure to which your attention has
been very recently called, which conduct I cannot suffer
to pass unnoticed, consistent with the duty I owe to my
Sovereign. The only mode which you have now left me
to do is by dissolving this general assembly." The House
thus dissolved so peremptorily had only sat three sessions,
and had still four more sessions to sit, under the septen-
nial arrangement, which ' was then the law of the
Province.
The subject of bonds on timber licenses does not
seem to have been discussed by the Legislature during
the session of 1820, but in 1821 a resolution was passed
that an address be presented to His Excellency, the
120 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Lieutenant Governor, expressing the anxiety of the
people of the Province with regard to these bonds, and
asking whether any further instruction had been received
from His Majesty, in regard to them, since the message of
the llth of March, 1819. In reply to this the Lieuten-
ant Governor informed the House that he had not
received any instructions from His Majesty's ministers
on the subject.
The same session the House passed a resolution that
an address be presented to the King, praying that
His Majesty would be graciously pleased to direct that
the duty of one shilling a ton on all timber be discon-
tinued, and that His Majesty's subjects in this Province,
who had entered into bonds for the payment of said duty,
might be relieved from the payment of the same. A few
days later a resolve was passed that an humble address
be presented to His Excellency, praying that he would
be pleased to take steps to have the timber bonds
cancelled. On the following day, Governor Smyth
informed the House of Assembly that under all the
circumstances of the case, and remembering the em-
barrassed state of the timber trade, he would lecommend
to the favorable consideration of His Majesty's ministers
the cancellation of such bonds as had already been taken
for securing payment of that money. The matter was
again brought up at the session of 1822 by a resolution
asking the Governor if he had received any instruction
from His Majesty's Government relative to the timber
bonds or their cancellation. In reply, he submitted to
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 121
the House a letter from Mr. Goulburn, stating that
although Lord Bathurst had every disposition to recom-
mend a compliance with the requisition to cancel the
timber bonds, he was desirous of previously ascertaining
the total amount of the bonds in question, in order that
he might be able to judge how far the depression in the
timber trade had been occasioned by an excessive issue
of licenses. A few days later an address was ordered by
the House, asking His Excellency to direct that a state-
ment be furnished of the total amounts of bonds taken
for pine timber cut on lands in this Province. Governor
Smyth declined to comply with this request on the
ground that the matter was then under the consideration
of His Majesty's ministers. The House of Assembly
was determined that this subject should not be allowed
to rest, and a day or two later, on motion of Mr. Allen of
York, it was resolved that a dutiful and humble address
be prepared and laid before the King, praying that His
Majesty take into consideration the depressed state of the
timber trade of the Province, and that he direct that the
bonds taken for pine timber cut on the Crown lands be
cancelled.
The subject of the timber bonds still continued to
engage the attention of the House. On the 15th March,
1822, on motion of Mr. E. Simonds, it was resolved that
His Excellency be asked to inform the House whether
any regulation had been adopted with regard to the
issuing of licenses for cutting pine timber on Crown
lands, by which none was to be granted until a shilling a
122 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ton on the whole be first paid. On the 19th March
the Governor returned for an answer to this question,
that a new regulation had been adopted in Council
respecting the cutting of pine timber, by which a shilling
per ton was to be paid for the quantities applied for. On
the 21st March, a draft address was reported to the
House by a committee which had been appointed to
prepare it, asking the King to take into consideration the
depressed state of the timber trade of the Province, and
to direct that the bonds taken for the pine timber cut on
Crown lands be cancelled. The Governor was asked to
lay this address at the foot of the throne, and he replied
that, although he considered the address irregular, not
having received the sanction of the Legislative Council,
yet he would, as requested by the House, transmit it to
His Majesty's ministers. He added that at the same
time, he should consider it his duty to accompany it with
his own observations and those of His Majesty's Council
on the subject. On the same day, Lieutenant Governor
Smyth prorogued the Legislature, accompanying his
closing observations with some advice to the House of
Assembly, in regard to what he conceived to be their
errors as to the constitution of the Province. He directed
their attention to the expediency of amending these
errors as early as possible, and declared that the best
method of discovering them was to compare the working
of the constitution with the parliamentary forms and
usages of the mother country. The modern reader will
appreciate the absurdity involved in such a statement on
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 123
the part of Lieutenant Governor Smyth, when it is
remembered that at this period about one-third of the
representatives in the British Parliament were elected
from rotten boroughs which either had no population at
all, or had so small a constituency that they were virtually
under the control of the rich land owners, who held the
territory in which they were situated. That was the
system which the Lieutenant Governor of New Bruns-
wick, seventy years ago, desired the free people of this
Province to imitate.
During the session of 1823 the House of Assembly
inquired of the Lieutenant Governor whether any
answer had been received in regard to their
address, in reference to the duty on pine timber.
In reply Governor Smyth laid before them a letter from
Lord Bathurst, in which he stated that the matter had
been referred to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury,
to whose department it more particularly belonged. He
stated that in the meantime he concurred generally in
the opinion put forth in the report of the Council. This
opinion, it is hardly necessary to remark, was entirely
opposed to the claims of the House of Assembly inter-
fering with the regulation of the cutting of timber, which
was held to be a subject belonging exclusively to the
Executive.
Lieutenant Governor Smyth took ill during this session
of the Legislature, and died on the 27th March, 1823, so
that the Province was relieved from the malign influence
which he had exercised in England, on all matters where
124 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the House sought to limit the royal prerogative or the
authority of the Council.
In 1824 the House addressed President Chipman, who
was administering the Government, for the purpose of
ascertaining the amount of money paid to the Eeceiver
General of His Majesty's casual revenue, or his deputy
in this Province, between February 1822, and January
1824. This reasonable request was refused by President
Chipman on the ground that he could not give the infor-
mation without instructions from the Lords Commissioners
of His Majesty's Treasury, under whose control the
casual revenues of the Province were held. President
Chipman died just fifteen days after he gave the House
of Assembly this answer, and was succeeded as president
by John Murray Bliss.
The session of 1825 was opened by Sir Howard
Douglas, the new Lieutenant Governor, but the timber
duties did not come up for discussion in the House at
that session. The following session, however, on motion
of Mr. Slason, of York, it was resolved to ask His Excel-
lency to take such steps as he might deem expedient and
proper to have the timber bonds taken for licenses in the
years 1819, 1820 and 1821 cancelled. When this mes-
sage was received by His Excellency, he replied that he
would not fail to recommend to His Majesty's Govern-
ment that the bonds referred to be cancelled. Sir
Howard Douglas was a man of a different spirit from the
narrow-minded, prejudiced person who was his predecessor
in the office of Lieutenant Governor, and he was much
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 125
more disposed to favor the interests of the people of New
Brunswick than some of the natives of the Province, who
got themselves placed in permanent public positions,
which they used mainly for the purpose of promoting
their own private fortunes, rather than for the benefit of
the country.
It was not, however, until February 9th, 1827, that
Sir Howard Douglas was able to lay before the House of
Assembly a message acquainting that body with the impor-
tant fact that he had been duly authorized to comply with
the address of the House and cancel the timber bonds.
This good news was further confirmed by a message
on the 7th March of the same year, when Sir Howard
Douglas was able to inform the House of Assembly that
the timber bonds taken between the years 1818 and 1821
inclusive, amounting to 8,210 13s. 4d. had been can-
celled agreeably to the directions of Earl Bathurst, of the
31st July previous. Thus one episode of the controversy
between the House of Assembly and the home author-
ities, in regard to the timber revenues of the Province,
was brought to a satisfactory conclusion. The same
conclusion might have been reached years before had the
Council of the Province displayed a more patriotic spirit,
and been imbued with a stronger desire to advance the
material interests of their fellow-subjects in the Province.
It was the curse of this time that persons who considered
themselves to belong to the upper classes, held themselves
aloof from the people and professed to believe that their
interests and those of the rest of the inhabitants of the
126 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Province, were entirely separate and distinct from each
other. They forgot that the general prosperity of the
Province could only be promoted by the prosperity of
each individual in it, and that any regulation which
imposed burdens on a leading industry, such as the
timber trade, must necessarily be injurious to the entire
community.
The settlement of the timber bond business by no
means closed the controversy with respect to the casual
and territorial revenues. The fact that the House of
Assembly had no control whatever over these revenues
was a standing grievance which would continue to be the
subject of agitation until it was removed. Prior to this
time a new system of selling and disposing of the Crown
lands of the Province had been introduced, and during
the session of 1829 it came under the notice of the House
of Assembly. On motion of Mr. Chandler, a series of
resolutions was carried, praying His Majesty to annul the
orders recently issued, in regard to the granting of Crown
lands, which the House considered to be based on a
system, which if persevered in, would be productive of
great loss and damage to the Crown, and an irreparable
injury to the colony. It seems that these regulations
permitted the lands to be sold in large blocks, frequently
without being sufficiently advertised, so that large areas
were locked up which otherwise would have been opened
to settlement.
The Council of the Province joined the House on this
occasion in an address to the King on the subject, show-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 127
ing that between the 30th of June, 1827, and the 31st of
December, 1828, 187,336 acres of Crown lands had been
sold, for which there had been received in payment only
the sum of 965 16s. 4d., from which sum the incidental
expenses attending the sales amounted to 503 18s. 8d.,
which being deducted, left the sum of 461 17s. 7d. as
the net amount of the purchase money for these enormous
areas of land. A very slight calculation will show that
the land thus sold realized something less than a cent an
an acre. Under these circumstances it need occasion no
.surprise that even the Council became alarmed at a
condition of affairs, which threatened to denude the
public domain of its best lands without any suitable
equivalent. Even this sum, inadequate as it was, was
not available for any public purposes, because consider-
ably larger amounts had been expended by the Surveyor
General's department on the surveys, so that the land
went for absolutely nothing.
The question of the casual and territorial revenue of
the Province was one which was not to be allowed to
rest. In March, 1831, on motion of Mr. Partelow, it
was resolved that an humble address be presented to His
Honor the President, praying that he would cause to be
laid before the House a detailed account, showing the
amount paid into the casual revenues from the 1st of
January, 1824, to the 1st of January, 1831, particular-
izing the sums in each year respectively, and from what
source or sources the revenue was derived ; also a state-
ment of the expenditure from the casual revenue for the
128 LIFE AND TIMES OF
same period, and for what purposes, and under what
authority the respective payments had been made ; also
the amount of salaries enjoyed respectively by all heads
of departments, and from what fund or funds their
emoluments were derived. The committee appointed to
present this address consisted of Mr. Partelow, Mr.
Simonds, and Mr. Clinch, and they reported four days
later that they had waited upon His Honor the President
with the address of the House, relative to the civil list,
and that he had replied, that consistently with such
instructions as had been hitherto received respecting the
King's casual revenue and the civil list of the Province
he could not now comply with the prayer of the address
but that he would transmit it for the consideration of His
Majesty's ministers, and their orders thereon.
The answer of His Honor the President was taken into
consideration by the House on the 16th March, about a
week after it had been received. Mr. Partelow moved a
resolution, which was passed by the House, in which the
former resolution of the House was recited, and it was
resolved that, as the information sought for had not been
obtained, the subject referred to in the address should be
brought under the consideration of His Majesty's Govern-
ment by an address from the House, and that a
committee be appointed to prepare the same. Messrs.
Partelow, Simonds and Chandler were appointed a
committee to prepare this address, which was laid before
the House of Assembly on the 31st March, and passed by
a vote of 14 to 8. As this address was the basis of the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 129
demand made upon the Imperial Government for a
change in the system of disposing of the casual and
territorial revenues of the Province, I quote the major
part of it. It was as follows :
" Deeply sensible of the paternal affection entertained
by Your Majesty for the welfare of all Your Majesty's
subjects, however remote their situation from the parent
state, the Assembly most humbly venture to bring under
Your Majesty's notice the grievances which Your Majesty's
loyal subjects residing in this colony endure from the
office established here, called the office of Department of
Crown Lands and Forests.
" By the operation of the system practised in this
office, very large sums are taken from the people of this
Province for licenses to cut timber on Crown Lands, and
although the Assembly do not question the right Your
Majesty undoubtedly has to the lands in question, they
think the tremendous powers with which the Com-
missioner is vested, with regard to impositions of
tonnage money and the enormous exactions for fees, to
be incompatible with a free government, and to require
redress.
" It is generally understood, as well as universally
believed, that the Commissioner in question is under no
control in this Province, and to this may be ascribed the
mode in which licenses to cut timber are issued in very
many cases, in quantities less than 100 tons, subject to a
duty of Is. 3d. per ton, and the excessive fee on each of
45s. By this mode, a large part of the receipts is paid
130 LIFE AND TIMES OF
in the shape of fees, at once injuring the subject without
benefitting the revenue ; and the Assembly feel convinced
if the office were under Colonial management, that while
the oppressions would be removed, the revenues would
be more productive ; and besides, the Assembly cannot
but view with just alarm that the day may possibly
come when, by a single mandate from the office, exac-
tions of such magnitude may be made, as literally to stop
the export trade of the country, a power which no person
should have even the shadow of authority to exercise.
" The Assembly, at an early day the present session,
by an address to the administrator of the Government,
sought for documents regarding this office, to enable them
officially to bring the subject more in detail under the
consideration of Your Majesty, but this information, so
highly desirable and necessary, has been withheld from
them ; and the Assembly, therefore, with great submis-
sion, lay before Your Majesty herewith, a copy of the
said address, with the reply thereto, for Your Majesty's
gracious consideration.
" It will by that be seen the objects contemplated by
the Assembly ; no less than relieving Your Majesty's
Government permanently from the burthen of the whole
civil list of the Province, a subject which the Assembly
humbly conceive to be of great advantage to the parent
state, and only requiring that the revenues, from what-
ever source or sources derived in or collected within the
Province, should be placed under the control of its
Legislature.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 131
" The Assembly have so often brought under the notice
of Your Majesty's royal predecessors, the privations
endured by your loyal subjects, the first settlers of the
country, and the unswerving attachment to the British
constitution that induced them to abandon their homes
and seek an asylum under British protection in a wilder-
ness, that they deem it unnecessary to dwell upon that
interesting topic on the present occasion.
" But they humbly beg leave to represent to Your
Majesty that although, as before expressed, they do nofc
deny the unquestionable sovereignty of Your Majesty to
the wild lands in this colony, they most humbly conceive
that the revenues derived from them, when the trying
circumstances under which this Province was originally
settled are duly considered, should be under the control
of the Legislature, although from the comparatively small
value of the ungranted lands, with those granted, but
little can be anticipated after the grant fees are first paid,
and it will, therefore, be from the timber duties almost
alone, the Assembly may expect any addition of revenue
in part provision for the civil list.
" The House of Assembly, therefore, most humbly pray
that this, their representation, may meet from Your
Majesty a gracious reception, and that Your Majesty will
be pleased to give such directions to the administrator of
the Government as will enable the Assembly to carry
these important objects into effect."
When the House met again in January, 1832, Sir
Archibald Campbell was Governor. Sir Archibald
132 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Campbell was a soldier who had received his military
education mainly in India and Burmah. He was there-
fore very ill-suited to be the Chief Magistrate of a free
people, especially in a Province like New Brunswick.
Why the British Government persisted in sending men
of the stamp of Sir Archibald Campbell to govern the free
colonies of Great Britain in America, is something that is
impossible now to understand. Bitter experience and
the fatal results of their system of administration in the
case of the old thirteen colonies ought surely to have
taught the Government that better men were required
for such service, but it would seem it did not have this
effect. Whatever may have been Sir Archibald Campbell's
merits as a soldier, he took a stand in the Province of
New Brunswick as an enemy to liberty, and to all good
Government, and he will be remembered as an upholder
of an ancient despotic system which was falling to
pieces, and as a man who endeavored, and for some time
successfully, to stand in the way of the political progress
of the country.
A few days after the opening of the Legislature in
1832, Lieutenant Governor Campbell laid before the
House a despatch which he had received from Lord
Goderich, referring to the address of the House, which had
been passed the previous session. In regard to supplying
information as to the amount of expenditure of the
casual revenue, Lord Goderich said that he had not
received any commands from His Majesty on the subject,
and that,as the resolutions of the Assembly were grounded
SIR LEONRD TILLEY. 133
altogether on erroneous information, it was not in his
power to authorize the Lieutenant Governor to comply
with the request of the House.
The preamble to the resolutions seemed to express the
belief that His Majesty, in a speech from the throne in
opening the Imperial Parliament, had announced his
intention of surrendering all Provincial revenues, and
placing them under the control of the Provincial Legisla-
ture, and it seems this was the error to which Lord
Goderich so pointedly directed their attention.
This curt reply did not prevent the House of Assembly
from again dealing with this important matter of revenne.
A few days after Lord Goderich's reply had been received,
a resolution was passed that an humble address be
presented to His Excellency, praying that he would lay
before the House an account of the monies received by
all persons employed in collecting the casual and other
Crown revenues, between the first day of January, 1830,
and the 31st of December, 1831, inclusive, and that he
would lay before the House a statement of the amount of
the incomes of all officers in the civil departments of the
Province. This resolution was passed by a vote of 18 to
8, there being at that period in the Legislature
an element unfriendly to liberty and progress, which
was content to let the Crown lands revenues remain
in the hands of the Imperial authorities. In reply
to this address, Sir Archibald Campbell expressed
his regret that with Lord Goderich's despatch before
the House, they should have placed him under the
134 LIFE AND TIMES OF
necessity of declining to comply with this request.
The House of Assembly was not deterred by the
obnoxious and improper attitude of the Lieutenant
Governor in regard to the casual and territorial revenues.
It returned to the subject, and on motion of Mr. Simonds,
resolved that it was reasonable and proper that His-
Majesty should be relieved from the payment of the civil
list of the Province, and it was necessary that information
should be obtained as to the amount of the Crown
revenues, and the annual charges thereon. It was also
resolved that an address be presented to His Excellency*
praying that he would cause to be laid before the House
an account of the receipts and expenditure of His-
Majesty's casual and all other Crown revenues levied,
collected, and expended in the year 1831. Messrs,
Simonds, Kinnear and Chandler were appointed a
committee to wait upon the Lieutenant Governor with
this address. They reported his reply as follows :
" Gentlemen, the specific and loyal purposes for which
information is asked in this address, respecting the
amount and expenditure of His Majesty's casual revenue
for the last year, enables me to give a willing compliance
to the request of the House of Assembly, by directing
the necessary documents to be laid before you."
As there was nothing in the last address of the House
different in any respect from its predecessors, it must be
assumed that the ready compliance of the Lieutenant
Governor was due to information received from England,
in regard to the intentions of the British Government
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 135
with, respect to the casual and territorial revenue. It
appeared from the returns then furnished that the Crown
land receipts of the Province for the year 1831 amounted
to 14,913 18s. 5id., out of which was taken 1,750
for the salary of the Surveyor General, 909 for his
clerks, 2,750 Is. for the expenses of preparing and
issuing patents for lands sold and for timber licences,
1,932 10s. 2d. for survey money, and 150 for the
annuity of Mr. Lockwood. The rest of the revenue
went to defray the salary of the Commander-in-Chief,
the Chief Justice, three Assistant Judges, the Attorney
General, the Secretary and Clerk of the Council, Immi-
gration Agent, the Archdeacon, the Presbyterian minister
of St. John, a donation to King's College, and a donation
to the Indians.
A few days later, on motion of Mr. Simonds, it was
resolved that, in the opinion of the House, a proposition
should immediately be made to His Majesty's Govern-
ment, that upon the condition that all the Crown
revenues, levied and collected in this Province, which
might arise from the sale of Crown lands therein by His
Majesty's Government, be placed under the control and
management of the Provincial Legislature, this House
will then make proper provision for the whole civil list
in the Province ; and further resolved, that a committee
be appointed to prepare a petition to His Majesty upon
the subject of the Crown revenues and civil list of the
Province.
The address, which was the result of this resolution,
136 LIFE AND TIMES OF
was as follows : " The House of Assembly of Your
Majesty's loyal Province of New Brunswick, humbly beg
leave to call the attention of Your Majesty to the situa-
tion of the Crown revenues, and the management of the
Grown lands and forests in this Province, sensible that
the paternal affection of your Majesty for the welfare of
all your subjects, wherever situated, will induce your
Majesty to give to this address that consideration which
its importance to the prosperity of New Brunswick
demands.
" The House of Assembly having received such infor-
mation from the Lieutenant Governor of the Province as
His Excellency was authorized to give upon the subject
of your Majesty's casual revenues, by which it appears
large sums are received from the people of the Province,
at a charge far greater than would be necessary under
proper management, are convinced of the justice and
propriety of relieving your Majesty from the payment of
any part of the civil list of the Province, and beg leave
to submit this, their proposition, to take upon themselves
the payment of all the necessary expenses of the civil
government of the Province, by making such permanent
and other grants as may be necessary for this purpose.
" In making this proposition, the Assembly do it in
the full assurance that previous to this measure being
carried into effect, your Majesty will accede to the
reasonable condition that all the Crown revenues levied
and collected in the Province, or which may arise from
the sale of Crown lands by your Majesty's government,
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 137
shall be placed under the management and control of the
Provincial Legislature.
" The Assembly are satisfied that no measure could
more conduce to the true interests of your Majesty and
to the prosperity of this Province, than the proposed one
of placing the management and control of your royal
revenues in the Legislature of the Province, by which
the complaints of the people of the Province against the
system adopted for collection of the casual revenues
would be removed, and a large saving in the collection of
said revenues effected.
" The Assembly are well assured that under a proper
system of management, the expense of collecting the
Crown revenues in the Province could be reduced to less
than half the amount of the present charges, and that the
saving to be effected would be of incalculable advantage
to the Province, in opening roads and making bridges, to
facilitate the improvement of the country, and the settle-
ment of emigrants from the L T nited Kingdom.
" The Assembly will not further urge the necessity of
correcting the present system of collecting the Crown
revenues in the Province, as they hope they have made
it sufficiently apparent to your Majesty ; and they there-
fore beg leave to suggest for your Majesty's consideration,
that for carrying the proposition made in this address
into effect, they will make such provision for the salaries
of all officers in the civil department, as is consistent with
the resources and condition of the Province, and which,
in addition to the sums required as a provision for the
138 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ordinary services, would leave but a small surplus of the
Crown and ordinary Provincial revenues to be applied to
general purposes of improvement ; and in adopting here-
after a scale of salaries, the Assembly are of the opinion
that the sums named for each officer should be in full of
all fees and emoluments of every nature and kind what-
ever ; and that the usual fees should be collected and
accounted for quarterly, and become a part of the
revenues to be placed under the control of the Legislature,
" The Assembly cannot think that the Crown revenues,
even under a judicious and economical system of man-
agement will, for a long period, be sufficiently productive
to pay the annual expenses of the civil list, and they are
persuaded that in a few years a large proportion of those
expenses must be provided for out of the ordinary
revenues of the Province.
"The Assembly cannot refrain from remarking how
desirable it would be that a final arrangement should be
made of all questions of revenue which have arisen or
might arise between your Majesty's government and the 4
Legislature of this Province, and they therefore most
earnestly pray that your Majesty would give to this
address an early and favorable consideration."
A committee was appointed to wait on the Lieutenant
Governor and ask him to transmit this address to His
Majesty. Sir Archibald Campbell replied that he should
do so, but he would consider it his imperative duty to
accompany it with such explanations as he might deem
necessary, and particularly to rebut the charges made
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 139
against the public departments. Thus the Lieutenant
Governor assumed an attitude of direct hostility to the
House of Assembly in regard to this highly important
matter.
The Crown land difficulty was not lost sight of during
the session of 1833. Early in that session, on motion of
Mr. Partelow, a resolution was carried, that an humble
address be presented to His Excellency, praying that he
would cause to be laid before the House, at as early a
date as possible, a detailed account, showing the amount
of the Crown revenues from the 1st of January, 1829, to
the 1st of January, 1833, particularizing the amount'
received each year ; also a statement of the salaries of all
the public officers paid from the Crown revenues. To
this the Lieutenant Governor replied, expressing his-
regret that he did not consider himself authorized to
furnish accounts embracing a period so long elapsed, but
that he would furnish the House of Assembly with
returns of the receipts and expenditures for the year 1832
as he had done for the year 1831. A day or two later a
despatch from Lord Goderich was laid before the House
of Assembly by the Lieutenant Governor, in which he
acknowledged the receipt of their despatch, proposing to
assume the expenses of the civil list of the Province on
the relinquishment by the Crown of the territorial
revenues. v -The reply to this was, that His Majesty did
not consider it necessary at present to call upon the
House for a grant of the nature proposed, as he did not
anticipate such a falling off of the revenue at his disposal
140 LIFE AND TIMES OF
as the House appeared to have apprehended. This was a
sarcastic way of informing the House of Assembly that
no change was to be made in the management of the
casual and territorial revenues of the Province.
Sir Archibald Campbell, at a later day during this
session, laid before the House an account of the casual
and territorial revenue for 1832. From this account it
appeared that there was a balance on hand in favor of
the revenue, on the 1st of January, 1832, amounting to
4,617 12s. 8d., and that the receipts for the year
brought up the total to 20,421 12s. 6|d., against which
. warrants had been drawn for 11,764 6s. 8d., leaving a
balance of 8,657 os. 10|d. at the end of the year. This
account was referred to a committee, who called attention
to " the tremendous expenses attendant upon the Crown
land department, the enormous salary of the Commissioner
and the large amount swallowed up in the collection and
protection of this revenue." They expressed the opinion
that under proper management an immense saving could
be effected. The reply of the Lieutenant Governor to
their address for information in regard to the Crown
lands was considered by a committee of the House of
Assembly, and resulted in the passing of the following
series of resolution :
1. Eesolved, As the opinion of this Committee that
the powers exercised by the Commissioner of Crown
Lands and Forests in this Province are far greater than
ought to be possessed by any subject, and that these
powers have been too frequently used in a manner
SIR LEONARD TJLLEY. HI
exceedingly detrimental to the general interests of this
Province, as well as to the invasion of private rights.
2. Resolved, As the opinion of this Committee, that
the abuse of these powers has disturbed that tranquillity
which every subject ought to enjoy, and which can only
result from a consciousness that his rights cannot be
invaded with impunity by the rich and powerful.
3. Eesolved, As the opinion of this Committee, that
the timber and extensive mill reserves which have been
made to individuals, are highly injurious to the com-
mercial prosperity of this Province, by preventing fair
and honorable competition and the introduction of capital,
discouraging the industry and enterprise of the lumber-
men and new settlers, and creating great dissatisfaction
throughout the country.
4. Resolved, As the opinion of this Committee, that
the want of control by the Legislature over the Commis-
sioner of Crown Lands and Forests and the revenues
collected by him, and the refusal of His Excellency, the
Lieutenant Governor, to furnish the Assembly with
particular accounts of the receipts and expenditure of
these revenues, to the extent prayed for by the House,
have given just reason to believe that great abuses exist
in that department.
5. Resolved, As the opinion of this Committee that
the majority of the present Executive Council of the
Province cannot have the confidence of the country, inas-
much as the first named on the list holds the situation of
Commissioner of Crown Lands and Forests in this
142 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Province, an office of such great power and authority as
renders it incompatible with the administration of the
government of the Province, to which such Councillor
would immediately succeed, in the event of the death or
absence of the Lieutenent Governor, and that the persons
second and third named on the said list hold public
situations in this Province also inconsistent with the
administration of the government, to which they might
hereafter succeed ; and it is the further opinion of this
Committee that the composition of the said Executive
Council is highly unsatisfactory, by the exclusion there-
from of old and faithful councillors who were entitled by
the former Constitution to succeed to the government of
the Province, prior to any of those placed on the list of
the Executive Council.
A Committee on Grievances consisting of Messrs.
Kinnear, Siinonds, Chandler, Partelow, Taylor, Weldon
and Wyer had been previously appointed for the purpose
of taking into consideration and investigating all matters
in connection with the Crown lands, which were the
subject of complaint. After hearing the evidence of a
number of witnesses and reporting to the House, this
Committee prepared an address to His Majesty which
recited the difficulties in connection with the Crown
lands of the Province, in very similar terms to the resolu-
tion already quoted. The House resolved to send a
deputation to England with the petition which had been
prepared by the Committee on Grievances, and they asked
the Lieutenant Governor to give to the deputation such
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 143
letters to the Secretary of the State for the colonies as
would enable them with as little delay as possible to
enter upon the important matters entrusted to them. Sir
Archibald Campbell replied that he could not comply
with the prayer in the address, and that, even if he con-
sidered himself authorized to do so, the well known
accessability of the Colonial Secretary would render such
letters unnecessary. The deputies appointed to proceed
to England and lay the grievances of the Province at the
foot of the throne, were Charles Simonds and Edward B.
Chandler, both men of wealth, influence and position, and
well qualified for the performance of the work with which
they were entrusted. Messrs. Chandler and Simonds
arrived in England in June, 1833, and immediately placed
themselves in communication with the Eight Honorable
E. G. Stanley, who was then Colonial Secretary. Their
report was laid before the Legislature in February, 1834,
and the result was highly satisfactory to the House of
Assembly. A few days later a despatch from Mr. Stanley
to Sir Archibald Campbell was laid before the House, in
which he stated the terms on which he should feel that
His Majesty might properly be advised to place the pro-
ceeds of the casual and territorial revenue under the
control of the Assembly of New Brunswick. He would,
he said, be prepared to advise His Majesty to accept a
permanent appropriation by the Legislature, duly secured,
to the amount of 14,000 per annum, and that the Crown
should undertake to charge on any such permanent grant
the salaries of the Lieutenant Governor, his Private
144 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Secretary, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Provincial
Secretary, Chief Justice, three puisne Judges, the Attor-
ney General, Auditor, Eeceiver General, the expenses of
the indoor establishment of the Crown Land department,
and a grant of 1,000 to the College. It would be
necessary, Mr. Stanley stated, that any bill passed in
consequence of the proposal contained in this despatch,
should contain a suspending clause in order that it might
be submitted to His Majesty before it was finally assented
to. It was also stated, in order to prevent misunder-
standing or delay, that the House should be apprised that,
unless some other fully equivalent and sufficient security
could be devised, it would be expected that the act should
provide that the stipulated annual commutation should
be payable out of the first receipts in each year, and that
in case of any default in such payment that the whole of
the revenue surrendered should revert to the Crown. A
Committee was appointed to prepare the bill on the sub-
ject of the surrender, by His Majesty, of his casual and
territorial revenues of the Province. The House of
Assembly had previously passed a resolution that the sum
of 14,000, required by His Majesty's government as
a permanent grant for the surrender of the casual and
territorial revenues of the Province, was greater than the
charges contemplated to be thereon required, yet that the
great desire of the House of Assembly to have this
important subject finally settled, should induce them to
accept the proposal contained in Mr. Stanley's despatch.
On the day after this a resolution was passed and a
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 145
Committee appointed ; the Lieutenant Governor commu-
nicated to the House of Assembly an extract from a
despatch, received the previous day by him from the
Right Honorable Mr. Stanley, dated the 4th January,
1834. This extract was as follows :
" In your message communicating to the Assembly the
proposal contained in my despatch of the 30th September,
you will take care distinctly to explain that the payments
expected from the New Brunswick Land Company are
not included in the revenue which is offered to the accept-
ance of the Assembly." It is with great regret that an
historian of this period must record the receipt of such a
despatch from an Imperial head of department to a
Colonial Governor, for the spirit displayed in the message
was not that of an enlightened statesman, but such as
might have been expected from a peddler, or an old
clothesman, who was endeavoring to drive the hardest
possible bargain with the Province of New Brunswick,
and to grind down the House of Assembly as much as
possible, in order that a number of bloated officials,
swollen with pride and enjoying enormous salaries, might
not suffer.
A few days after the receipt of this despatch a resolu-
tion was passed by the House in Committee, regretting
that the additional condition contained in Mr. Stanley's
last despatch would prevent the Committee recommending
to the House further action in the matter of preparing a
civil list bill. Thus ended the attempt to settle this
vexed question in the year 1834. The House of Assem-
146 LIFE AND TIMES OF
bly, however, still continued to agitate the matter, and to
make Sir Archibald Campbell's life a burden to him. On
the 7th March they addressed him, asking for accounts
in detail of the casual and territorial revenues, and calling
for a number of statements which they had not received
except in such a shape that they could not be properly
understood. They also addressed His Excellency, request-
ing him to lay before them copies of all official despatches
transmitted to him by the Secretary of State for the
Colonies since he assumed the administration of the
government, relating to the subject of the casual and
territorial revenues. The reply of His Excellency to the
request for more detailed accounts was a courteous one ;
but while he consented to furnish the accounts requested
in detail, it was with the understanding that his compli-
ance was not to be considered as a precedent. He
declined, however, to give the names of the parties who
had their timber seized or forfeited, or the names of the
petitioners for Crown land. He also refused to furnish
the accounts of the Keceiver General and Commissioner
of Crown Lands on the ground that they were accounts
exclusively between these officers and the Crown.
With regard to the request for his correspondence with
the Colonial Secretary, Sir Archibald Campbell, in
another message, gave a tart refusal, stating that such a
request was subversive of the principles and spirit of the
British Constitution, and that he would ill deserve the
confidence put in him by His Majesty were he to hesi-
tate in meeting so dangerous an encroachment, not only
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 147
on the independence of the Executive, but the preroga-
tives ,of the British Crown, with a most decided and
unqualified refusal. This old military tyrant considered
himself a proper exponent of the principles and spirit of
the British Constitution. He failed to understand that
the British Constitution rests upon the support of the
people, while his system of government was intended to
ignore the people altogether.
A few days after the receipt of this message, a resolu-
tion was passed by the House of Assembly, declaring that
the language used by the Lieutenant Governor, in his
reply to the address of the House, was at variance with
all Parliamentary precedent and usage, and such as was
not called forth by the address. Some of the Governor's
friends attempted to weaken the force of this resolution
by an amendment of a milder nature, but their amend-
ment was defeated, and the resolution carried by a vote
of 15 to 8. Another address on the subject of the casual
and territorial revenues and civil list was prepared and
passed by the Assembly for the purpose of being
forwarded to His Majesty. It recited the proceedings in
regard to the matter which had taken place already, and
the desire of the House of Assembly to accept the
proposition contained in Mr. Stanley's despatch, and
expressed the regret of the House at the new condition
imposed with regard to the New Brunswick Land Com-
pany, which made it impossible to accept the settlement
as amended. The House concluded by expressing the
hope that the terms proposed in the original despatch
148 LIFE AND TIMES OF
might yet be considered definitive, and that the proviso
with regard to the New Brunswick Land Company might
be withdrawn. This was transmitted to England ; but
before the year ended Sir Archibald Campbell concluded
to rid himself of the House of Assembly, which had
given him so much annoyance, and accordingly it was
dissolved early in November, so that when the Legislature
met again in January, 1835, the House of Assembly was
a new one, although largely composed of the old mem-
bers. The answer to the address of the House to the
King of the previous session was not laid before the
House of Assembly until that body had been sitting about
a month. It consisted of an extract from a despatch of
the Earl of Aberdeen, dated Downing street, 24th Decem-
ber, 1834. This despatch is so curious a document that
it is well worth being quoted. The portion of it laid
before the House of Assembly was as follows :
" I have had under my serious consideration your
despatch No. 17, of the 24th March last, accompanied by
an address to His Majesty from the House of Assembly,
respecting the recent offer which has been made to them
of the proceeds of the Crown revenues in New Brunswick.
"From various parts of the address I infer that
the proposal conveyed to the Assembly, through my
predecessors, must have been misapprehended in
more than one important particular; and I have
especially remarked the erroneous assumption that, in
offering to surrender the proceeds of the Crown lands,
it was intended also to give up their management,
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 149
and to place them under the control of the Legislature.
" From the course of their proceedings, as well as the
tenor of the present expression of their sentiments, the
Assembly must be understood to consider it an indispen-
sable condition that the payments of the Laud Company
should be comprised among the objects to be surrendered
to them. This is a condition to which His Majesty's
government cannot agree. His Majesty's government
would also be unable to recognize the interpretation which
was placed on their former offer, so far as regards the
control over the lands belonging to the Crown in New
Brunswick. Under these circumstances I can only desire
you to convey to the Assembly His Majesty's regrets
that the objects of their address cannot be complied with;
and adverting to the wide difference between the views
entertained by the government and those manifested by
the Assembly on this subject, it seems to me that no
advantage could be anticipated from making any further
proposals at present respecting the cession of the terri-
torial revenue."
This despatch, which brought a sudden close to the
negotiations with regard to the casual and territorial
revenues of the Province, did not emanate from the
government with which the House of Assembly had been
previously negotiating, but from a new administration
which had just been formed under the premiership of Sir
Eobert Peel, and which lasted just one hundred nd
thirteen days. The creation of this administration was
due to the action of King William IV., in dismissing his
150 LIFE AND TIMES OF
advisers on the death of Earl Gray. The King had grown
to detest his Cabinet for their reforming spirit, but
fortunately for Great Britain and for New Brunswick,
the King's designs were thwarted by the failure of Sir
Eobert Peel to form an administration capable of facing
the House of Commons. As a consequence, Viscount
Melbourne became premier, and a renewal of the
negotiations with the government in regard to the casual
and territorial revenues was rendered possible. During
the same session that this despatch was received, another
address was prepared by the House of Assembly, to be
laid before His Majesty, on the subject of the casual and
territorial revenues. In this address the grievances with
regard to the management of the Crown Lands of New
Brunswick were recited, and the willingness of the Legis-
lature to provide for the civil establishment of the
Province was stated. The address urged the benefits that
would result to the people of New Brunswick by placing
the net proceeds of the Crown land revenues under the
control of the Legislature. Attached to this address was
a schedule of salaries paid out of the casual and territorial
revenues, amounting in all to 10,500 currency. The
address was transmitted to the Governor to be forwarded
to His Majesty.
This session was remarkable from the fact that it closed
without the passage of any appropriation bill. This was
due to the action of the Legislative Council, who rejected
the appropriation bill, because it did not contain any
provision for the payment of the expenses of the President
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 151
and the members of that body. The Legislature was
prorogued on the 19th March, and called together again
on the 15th June, when a short session was held for the
purpose of passing the appropriation bill. At this session
the bill for collecting Quit Rents, which has been already
referred to, was passed, but no further steps were taken
in regard to the casual and territorial revenue.
At the Legislative session of 1836, the House of
Assembly again passed an address to the King on the
subject of the grievances of the Province, with regard to
the casual and territorial revenues, and Messrs. L. A.
Wilmot and William Crane were appointed a deputation
to proceed to England, for the purpose of concluding
arrangements in regard to these matters. They arrived
in England in June of that year, and immediately placed
themselves in communication with Lord Glenelg, with
whom they had many interviews. The result of their
work was that an arrangement was made satisfactory
both to the British Government and to the delegates
representing the House of Assembly, by which the casual
and territorial revenues were to be transferred to the
Province, in consideration of the Legislature undertaking
to provide for a civil list of 14,500 currency annually,
for the payment of certain salaries chargeable to that
fund. A draft of a civil list bill was prepared and agreed
to by the Lords of the Treasury, and the understanding
was that this bill should be passed by the Legislature, and
receive the assent of the Lieutenant Governor, when it
would immediately become operative.
152 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The first clause of this bill transferred the proceeds of
the territorial and casual revenues, and of all woods,
mines and royalties which had been collected, and were
then in hand, or which should thereafter be collected to
the Provincial Treasurer ; he was authorized to receive
them for the use of the Province, while the act remained
in force. The second clause charged the revenues with
the payment of 14,500 for a civil list. The third clause
enacted that all the surplus over and above the sum of
14,500 currency, should remain in the Treasury of the
Province, until appropriated or disposed of by an act or
acts of the General Assembly. The fourth clause gave
the Lieutenant Governor, with the advice of his Execu-
tive Council, power to expend such sums as they might
deem necessary for the prudent management, protection
and collection of the said revenues, a detailed account of
which was to be laid before the Legislature within four-
teen days of the commencement of each session, with all
vouchers for the same. It was also enacted that all grants
or sales of Crown lands should be void unless the land
had been sold at public auction, after due notice in the
" Royal Gazette." By -this arrangement the House of
Assembly had obtained the boon for which they had so
long been contending, but there was still one more
obstacle to be overcome, the opposition of the Lieutenant
Governor, Sir Archibald Campbell, who had entered into
a plot with some of the enemies of freedom in the Prov-
ince for the purpose of thwarting not only the wishes of
the House of Assembly, but also the intentions of the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 153
Home Government. As soon as Sir Archibald Campbell
was apprised of the intention of His Majesty's advisers in
England to transfer the casual and territorial revenues to
the Provincial Legislature, he commenced a correspon-
dence with the Colonial office, pointing out what he
deemed to be imperfections in the scheme which they
had prepared for the management of the public lands.
He pretended to have discovered that there was some
error in the calculation of the Lords of the Treasury with
regard to the sum to be paid in lieu of the Civil List, and
that the amount of 14,500 currency would not be suf-
ficient to defray all the expenditures chargeable on the
Civil List. Sir Archibald Campbell, soon after the open-
ing of the session of the Legislature in December, 1836,
requested the House of Assembly to add a suspending
clause to any Civil List bill they might pass, so that he
might forward it to the home government for their
approval. As this was entirely contrary to the under-
standing which had been reached between Messrs. Wilmot
and Crane and the Colonial Secretary, it being understood
that the Civil List bill if passed in the form agreed upon
would be immediately assented to by the Lieutenant
Governor, the House of Assembly very naturally refused
to comply with Sir Archibald Campbell's wishes. The
old military tyrant, however, held firm in his resolution,
and the Civil List bill which had been agreed to by the
home authorities, after being passed by both houses, did
not receive his assent. At the close of the session, while
the matter was under discussion, at the instigation of the
154 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Lieutenant Governor, one of the Executive Council, Sol-
icitor General Street, was sent on a secret mission to
Downing street. The object of this mission was to make
such representations to the home authorities as would
induce them to delay in giving their assent to the Civil
List bill. The truth of the matter seems to have been
that Sir Archibald Campbell and his advisers in New
Brunswick thought if they could only gain time,
the Imperial Government of England, which had granted
such favorable terms to the Province might be defeated,
and a Tory Government would come into power which
would speedily undo all their predecessors had done, and
refuse to grant any concessions to the Legislature of New
Brunswick. There was great excitement in the Prov-
ince in consequence of the action of the Lieutenant
Governor, and this excitement was fairly voiced in the
House of Assembly, where an address was prepared
representing the condition of affairs to His Majesty, and
detailing the manner in which the Lieutenant Governor
had sought to thwart the intentions of the Imperial Gov-
ernment. This address was passed by a vote of 27 to 2,
the only members of the House who ventured to stand
in with the man who occupied Government House being
John Ambrose Street and William End.
Messrs. Crane and Wilmot were again appointed a
deputation to proceed to England with this address of the
House of Assembly, and took their departure two days
after it was passed, amidst great popular demonstrations
of the citizens of Fredericton. The Legislature was
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 155
prorogued on March 1st, on which day the House of
Assembly again requested the Lieutenant Governor to
pass the Civil List bill, pointing out that under the
arrangements made with the Colonial Office it was his
duty to do so, but their request fell upon deaf ears. In
the speech proroguing the Legislature, Sir Archibald
Campbell stated that he had withheld his assent from this
bill because a suspending clause had not been appended
to it. These were the last words that Sir Archibald
Campbell was destined to speak before a New Brunswick
Legislature. Finding that all his hopes of impeding the
progress of the Province in the direction of liberty were
in vain, he tendered his resignation to save himself from
being removed, as he would have been, for his direct
disobedience to the commands of his superiors in England.
Sir John Harvey, a real soldier, and a man of a very
different spirit, was appointed to succeed him as Lieuten-
ant Governor. The Civil List bill was again passed by
the Legislature and received the royal assent, becoming
law on July 17, 1837, and from that time to the present
the Province of New Brunswick has controlled the
revenues which it derives from its Crown Lands and
similar sources, and whether wisely expended or not, the
people of this Province have at least the satisfaction of
knowing that the money is appropriated by their own
representatives, and by a Government which is responsible
to them for its actions.
The manner in which the money granted by the Prov-
ince as a consideration for the surrender of the Casual
156 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and Territorial Eevenue was to be appropriated, was
specified in" the despatch of Lord Glenelg and was as
follows :
Salary of the Lieutenant Governor, 3,500
Chief Justice 950
Three Puisne Judges 1,960
Attorney General, 550
Solicitor General, 200
Private Secretary, 200
Commissioner of Crown Lands, 1,750
Establishment of Crown Lands, 909
Provincial Secretary, 1,430
Auditor, 300
Receiver General, 300
Scotch Minister, 50
Emigrant Agent at St. John, 100
Annuity to late Surveyor General, 150
College, 1,000
Indians, 54
Total, in Sterling money, 13,393
It will be observed from the above figures that the
salaries were arranged on a sufficiently liberal scale, the
Surveyor General alone receiving as large a sum as the
three principal heads of department in the present Gov-
ernment of New Brunswick are now paid. The Lieuten-
ant Governor received about double the present salary of
that official, and the Secretary of the Province was paid
almost three times as much as the present incumbent of
that office. Those were the days when officers enjoyed
enormous incomes and performed but little service for
them.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 187
CHAPTEE V.
The transfer of the Casual and Territorial Revenues of
the Province placed a very large sum, amounting to
150,000, at the disposal of the Legislature and made
the Government, for the time being, rich. This, however,
was by no means an unmixed benefit, because it intro-
duced a spirit of extravagance into the Legislature, which
was not calculated to be advantageous to the Province.
Having so much money at their disposal the members of
the House of Assembly expended it freely, frequently for
objects that were not at all essential to the public welfare.
This, however, is a matter which has no necessary place
in this work, except for the purpose of illustrating the
faulty system of appropriating the public money, which
prevailed at the time. It has already been explained in
previous pages that there was no executive control of the
expenditure. The initiation of money grants being in the
House of Assembly, any private member had it in his
power to move an appropriation of money for any object
that he deemed proper. In this way a system of "log
rolling" was inaugurated in the Legislature which resulted
158 LIFE AND TIMES OF
in extravagant expenditures, and the appropriation of
money for objects which, under a better system, would
not have received it. As a result of this evil system the
surplus of the Casual and Territorial Revenue was very
speedily dissipated and in the year 1842, when Sir
William Colebrooke became Lieutenant Governor of the
Province, its finances were in an embarrassed condition.
Towards the close of 1841 a despatch was received from
Lord Stanley, the Colonial Secretary, suggesting that it
was desirabje that a better system of appropriating the
funds of the Province should be inaugurated. This
brought up a discussion in the Legislature during the
session of 1842 in regard to the propriety of adopting the
principle of placing the initiation of money grants in the
Executive Council. Mr. L. A. Wilmot moved a resolu-
tion in a committee of the whole House that no appro-
priation of public money should be made at any future
session in supply, for any purpose whatever, until there
be a particular account of the income and expenditure of
the previous year, together with an estimate of the sums
required to be expended, as well for ordinary as extra-
ordinary services, respectively, and also a particular
estimate of the principal amount of Revenue for the en-
suing year. To this an amendment was moved by Mr.
Partelow as follows : " Whereas the present mode of
appropriation, tested by an experience of more than fifty
years, has not only given satisfaction to the people of this
Province, but repeatedly attracted the deserved approba-
tion of the Colonial Ministers, as securing its constitu-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 159
tional position to every branch of the Legislature ; there-
fore resolved, as the opinion of this committee, that it is
not expedient to make any alteration in the same." This
amendment was carried by a vote of 18 to 12, the minor-
ity including Mr. Charles Fisher of York, who afterwards
became prominent as a reformer and did good service to
the cause of liberalism in connection with his colleague,
Mr. L. A. Wilmot. Such an amendment as that passed
by the House of Assembly of New Brunswick in 1842
would now only be an object of ridicule, because as a
matter of fact the financial condition of the Province
showed that the system of appropriation which prevailed
was based on false principles, while the approval of
the Colonial Ministers, of which so much account was
made, had been equally extended to the most illiberal
features of the constitution. There was, however, some
excuse for the reluctance of the members of the House
of Assembly to surrender the initiation of money votes
to the Executive, because the Executive of that day was
not a body properly under the control of the Legislature,
or in sympathy with the people.
The session of 1842 terminated the existence of the
twelfth Legislature of New Brunswick, and a general
election was held in December, 1842. At this election
the question of Eesponsible Government, which was the
term applied to the new system, was a prominent factor
in determining the fate of the candidates. On the hust-
ings all the aspirants for the Legislature were expected
to give their views on this important matter, but the
160 LIFE AND TIMES OF
result of the election showed that the public mind was in
a very unsettled condition in regard to it. For the city
of St. John, Mr. R. L. Hazen, who was certainly not a
person who favored Responsible Government, and Mr.
W. H. Street, who favored the initiation of money grants
being placed in the Executive, were elected. The suc-
cessful candidates for the County were Mr. John R.
Partelow, who was wholly opposed to any change in the
Constitution, Mr. Robert Paine, Mr. John Jordan, and
the Hon. Charles Simonds. The three latter were in
favor of Responsible Government, so that the voice of St.
John in regard to this vital and important political ques-
tion was divided. In York County two anti-reformers,
Messrs. Allen and Taylor, and the two great reformers of
the Legislature, Mr. L. A. Wilmot and Charles Fisher,
were elected, but the anti-reformers led the poll. When
the House of Assembly met on the last day of January,
1843, it was seen that the friends of Responsible Govern-
ment were still in the minority, and Mr. John W.
Weldon, as a representative of the old system, was elected
speaker without any opposition. Still the friends of
reform brought up the subject of the appropriation of the
public monies by a resolution which sought to fix the
responsibility of the expenditures on the Government.
This was met by an amendment, moved by Mr. J. W.
Weldon, that the House would not surrender the initia-
tion of the money votes. The amendment was carried by
a vote of 24 to 7, which showed that the friends of reform
had still much leeway to make up before they could hope
to impress their views upon the Legislature.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 161
As it was hopeless to expect that the House of Assem-
bly, as thus constituted, would vote in favor of the trans-
fer of the initiation of money grants to the Executive,
the subject does not seem to have been discussed again
during the remainder of its term ; but by the operation
of the Quadrennial Act, which came in force in 1846, a
new House was elected in that year, and at the first
session of this House, held early in 1847, Mr. Fisher
again brought forward resolutions requiring the Govern-
ment to prepaje and bring before the Legislature such
measures as might be required for the development of
the provincial resources and the general advancement of
the public interests.
The debate on this resolution assumed the character of
an attack on the Government, and the resolution was
treated as one of want of confidence and defeated, the vote
being 23 to 12. In the following year there was another
discussion on the initiation of money grants, arising out
of a despatch which had been received from Earl Grey,
then Colonial Minister, in which he referred to the laxity
of the system by which money was voted in the New
Brunswick Legislature without any estimate, and sug-
gested that the initiation of money grants should be
surrendered to the Executive.
This proposal was fiercely opposed and all the forces
of ancient Toryism, were rallied against it, one member
from Queens County, Mr. Thomas Gilbert, going so far
as to apply to the advocacy of the old rotten system the
soul-stirring words contained in Nelson's last signal at
162 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Trafalgar, "England expects that every man this day will
do his duty." Finally the following resolution, which
was moved by Mr. Fisher, was carried by a vote of 24
to 11: "Eesolved, as the opinion of this committee,
that the House should approve of the principles of
Colonial Government contained in the despatch of the
Eight Honorable Earl Grey, Her Majesty's principal
Secretary of State for the Colonies, of the 31st March,
1847, and for their application to this Province." This
resolution was the first unequivocal admission by both
parties that Eesponsible Government had obtained a foot-
hold in New Brunswick. The passage of this resolution,
however, made no difference in the practice of the Gov-
ernment during the term of the Legislature elected in
1846, and it was not until the year 1851, after the subject
of this biography had become a member of the Legisla-
ture, that a resolution was finally carried in the House
of Assembly in favor of surrendering the initiation of
money grants into the hands of the Executive Govern-
ment.
The arrangement by which the Executive and Legis-
lative Councils were separated,* which came in force in
1833, although it was a decided improvement on the old
state of affairs, did not produce universal satisfaction.
The constitution of the Legislative Council was complained
of, and it was described as an obstructive body which
disregarded the wishes of the people. The complaints
against the Legislative Council that the House of Assem-
bly had to make were embodied in an address to the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 163
Queen, which was passed at the session of 1843. In
this address it was stated that in the opinion of the
House the Legislative Council should be composed of
persons not only representing all the leading interests of
the Province, but so independent in respect to property
and so free from the official control, as to form a constitu-
tional check on the Executive as well as a branch of the
Legislature. Although by the laws that existed then
members of the Assembly were required to be possessed
of real estate to the value of 300, over and above all
encumbrance, there was no property qualification what-
ever required for members of the Legislative Council.
The address of the House expressed the opinion that
members of the Council should be required to possess a
certain amount of real estate, and that their seats should
be vacant on the loss of this qualification, or on their
being bankrupt or a public defaulter, or from neglect to
give their attendance for a given time without leave of
the Lieutenant Governor. The address also stated that
the constitution of the Legislative Council was defective
and objectionable in other respects, because of the eighteen
members who composed it a great proportion held offices
at the pleasure of the Crown, and the principal officers of
the Government usually formed a majority of the mem-
bers present. It was also complained that members of
the Church of England had too great a preponderance in
the Council, the only members not of that communion
being one Presbyterian and one Baptist, while there was
not a single member in the Council who, in the opinion
164 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of the House, could be classed as a reformer. At the next
session of the Legislature despatches were laid before the
House of Assembly in which it was stated that the
Council would be increased in number to twenty-one, and
four new members of the Council were to be appointed.
The new members then appointed were T. H. Peters,
Admiral Owen, William Crane and George Minchin, while
the Honorable Thomas Baillie, the Surveyor General, the
Honorable Mr. Lee, the Eeceiver General, the Honorable
Mr. Allanshaw, of St. Andrews, and the Honorable
Harry Peters, of Gagetown, retired from the body. No
doubt the retirement of two officials who received large
salaries was some improvement, but the Council required
much remodelling before it could be said to be an efficient
body, or one in sympathy with the inhabitants of the
Province.
The Legislative Council has now ceased to exist and it
may be said of it that it was never a very satisfactory
body for legislative purposes. Perhaps the original
composition of it created a prejudice against Legislative
Councils so as to hamper its activities, and from having
been at first merely the echo of the wishes of the
Governor, it became latterly, to a large extent, the echo of
the wishes of the Government. Gradually it became
relieved of its official members and in its latter years no
head of a department ever occupied a seat in the Legisla-
tive Council, for it was thought, and rightly, that the
power ought to be in the House where the responsibility
to the people was most felt, and that it was not wise to
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 165
place a departmental official, whose department expended
large sums of money, in a body which properly had no
control over the public expenditure. The Legislative
Council had undoubtedly from time to time many able
and useful members, and at certain periods in the history
of the Province, particularly during the confederation
discussions, it took a firm stand in favor of measures
which seemed essential to the prosperity of the British
North American Provinces. No one can deny that at
that time it exercised an authority fully equal to that
of the lower House, but it cannot be doubted that some
of this work was done at the expense of the proper
balance of the constitution. Such an exercise of unusual
authority on the part of a body not elected by the people
may serve the purpose at a particular crisis, but cannot
be commended, and if frequently repeated would end in
the destruction of the constitution. The Legislative
Council lost a considerable proportion of its able men at
the time of confederation by the removal of twelve of its
members to the Senate of Canada, although one or two
remained with it who were not inferior to any of those
who then took their departure. The new members who
came in as their successors were naturally inferior to the
old in practical experience and ability, and this had no
doubt an influence on the future of the House. The
example of Ontario, which was able to conduct its affairs
with one House, showed that two independent branches
of the Legislature were by no means necessary, and that
the Council might be abolished with safety. No doubt
166 LIFE AND TIMES OF
it was difficult to bring this about among a people who
had been trained to believe that there was something
essential to legislation in the balance of king, lords and
commons making up one legislative body. But in the
course of time people began to think that the Council
was not exactly the proper representative of the House
of Lords, and the Lieutenant Governor was very far from
standing in the position of a king. Old prejudices in
favor of a constitution framed after a particular model
are difficult to remove, but in the case of New Brunswick
these prejudices have been finally overcome, and it is safe
to say that in the course of time all the provincial legis-
latures of Canada will consist of but a single chamber.
It is equally safe to assert that under the new system
the work of legislation will be as well or better done than
it was under the old.
It has been already stated that the Governor of the
Province made such appointments to office as he pleased,
usually without the advice of his Council. He was sup-
posed to have power to do this as the representative of
Her Majesty, and in the exercise of what was termed the
Koyal Prerogative. In this way persons were frequently
appointed to offices who were not residents of the Prov-
ince, and in all other cases appointments were given to
the members of certain favored families. In 1834 a
vacancy was created on the Supreme Court Bench by the
death of Chief Justice Saunders. Ward Chipman was
appointed Chief Justice in place of Mr. Saunders, and
the vacant puisne judgeship was given to James Carter,
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 167
who afterwards became Chief Justice of the Province.
James Carter was a young Englishman and was certainly
no better qualified to fill the position of judge that many
natives of the Province, so 'that it was undoubtedly a
gross insult to the members of the New Brunswick bar
to give such an appointment to a stranger. Yet so slow
was public opinion to make itself felt in regard to the
evil of the appointing power being given to the Governor
without qualification, that ten years later the House of
Assembly presented an address to Sir Charles Metcalf,
Governor General of Canada, expressing the high sense
entertained by them as representatives of the people of
New Brunswick, of the " constitutional stand " taken by
him in maintaining the Prerogative of the Crown in the
then recent memorable conflict. The city of St. John
also, to show its loyalty, presented a similar address, and
one signed by one thousand persons was sent from the
County of York. Yet nothing can be more clear than that
the stand taken by Sir Charles Metcalf was wholly wrong,
for it consisted in refusing to consult with his Council in
regard to appointments, and in making appointments con-
trary to their advice. What would the people of Canada
say to-day to a Governor General who insisted on ap-
pointing men to offices against the advice of his Cabinet ?
Yet it was for doing this that the New Brunswick House
of Assembly, the City and County of St. John and the
County of York actually grovelled in the dust before this
despotic Governor, thus approving of all his detestable
acts. Such abasement and subserviency to an unconsti-
168 LIFE AND TIMES OF
tutional Governor was certain to bring its own punish-
ment, and it came much sooner than any one could have
anticipated. On Christmas day of the same year the
Hon. William Franklin Odell, who had been Provincial
.Secretary for thirty -two years, died at Fredericton. Mr.
Odell's father had been Secretary before him from the
foundation of the Province, so that the Odell family had
held that important and highly lucrative office for sixty
years.
The Governor at this time was Sir William Colebrooke,
and on the 1st of January, 1845, just one week after the
death of Mr. Odell, he appointed his son-in-law, Alfred
Eeade, who was a native of England and a stranger to
the Province, to the vacant office. The gentlemen who
had been most prominent in shouting their approval of
the " constitutional stand" taken by Sir Charles Metcalf
now suddenly discovered that Sir William Colebrooke's
conduct in making this appointment, without consulting
his Council, was a fearful outrage, and their distress was
pitiable to behold. Several members of the Government,
including such strong upholders of the Prerogative as the
Hon. Eobert L. Hazen, of St. John, at once resigned their
positions. A communication from three of them, Hugh
Johnson, E. B. Chandler and E. L. Hazen, addressed to
His Excellency, gave as their reasons for resigning that
they could not justify the exercise of the Prerogative of
the Crown in respect to Mr. Eeade's appointment, because
they felt that the "elevation to the highest offices of trust
and emolument of individuals whose character, services
SIE LEONARD TILLEY. 169
and claims to preferment, however appreciated elsewhere,
are entirely unknown to the country generally, is preju-
dicial to the best interests of the Province." They did
not, however, make it a ground of objection that the
appointment of Mr. Reade was forwarded for the royal
approbation without the advice or concurrence of the
Council. These gentlemen evidently thought it was too
early for them to eat the words in regard to the Preroga-
tive of the Crown of which they had been so free a few
months before, but they showed their true character by
deserting the Governor because he had been foolish
enough to believe that their profuse expressions in favor
of the Royal Prerogative were sincere.
Hon. L. A. Wilmot, who also resigned, sent a separate
communication to the Lieutenant Governor, in which he
stated that such appointments should be given to inhab-
itants of the Province and not to a comparative stranger
and a transient person like Mr. Reade. He also expressed
the opinion that the principles of Responsible Government
should be put in operation in New Brunswick, and that
the Provincial Secretary should be brought into the Ex-
ecutive and should hold a seat in one of the Houses of
the Legislature, his tenure of office being contingent upon
the successful administration of the Government. When
the House met, in the latter part of January, the
Reade appointment immediately became the subject of
discussion, and by the vote of 24 to 6, an address was
passed to Her Majesty the Queen, condemning the
appointment, not, as the members said, because they ques-
170 LIFE AND TIMES OF
tioned "in the remotest degree the Prerogative in its
undoubted right to make such appointments," but because
they thought that the right of appointment had been
improperly or unjustly exercised. In other words the
members of the House of Assembly surrendered the
principle that appointments should be made by the
Governor, with the advice of his Executive, and only
objected to the Eeade appointment because in their
opinion some one else should have been chosen. It is
easy to see that in subscribing to this address the mem-
bers of the House stultified themselves, and cut the
ground from under their feet ; for if it was a part of the
Prerogative of the Crown to make appointments without
the advice of the Council, surely the exercise of that
prerogative in the appointment of a particular individual
could not be fairly questioned. The result of the diffi-
culty, however, was the cancelling of Mr. Eeade's
appointment by the home government. This decision
was communicated to the House of Assembly by message
on the 3rd of February, 1846. The despatch from the
Colonial office, upon which the Lieutenant Governor
acted, was written on the 31st of March, 1845, and must
have been received by him at Fredericton not later
than the last of April. But notwithstanding this des-
patch Mr. Reade held office until the 17th of July, so it
will be seen that Sir William Colebrooke was in no hurry
to carry out the wishes of the home government. Lord
Stanley, the writer of the despatch in question, expressed
the opinion that public employment should be bestowed
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 171
on the natives or settled inhabitants of the Province, and
he thought that Mr. Reade did not come under this
description. He closed his despatch with the following
singular statement : " I observe with satisfaction that
the House of Assembly have not only abstained from
complicating the subject with any abstract questions of
government, but have rejected every proposal for laying
down formal principles upon such questions. The House
has, I think, in this course done justice to the earnest
desire of Her Majesty, that the Colonial administration
generally should be conducted in harmony with the
wishes of her people, whatever may be the variations
arising out of local considerations and the state of society
in various Colonies, subject to which that principle may
be carried into practice ; and it is anxiously hoped that
the same wise forbearance which has led the House of
Assembly to decline the unnecessary discussion of sub-
jects of so much delicacy, may lead them also to regard
the practical decision now announced as the final close of
the controversy, and to unite in the promotion, not of
objects of party strife and rivalry, but of the more sub-
stantial and enduring interests of the Colony which they
represent." If these words have any meaning they seem
to show that at that date the British Government believed
the right of appointment to be in the Crown, without
reference to the Council, and that they were unwilling
any general principle should be laid down by the Legis-
ture of the Province which conflicted with this view.
Even so late as the year 1851 the Colonial Secretary
172 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ordered the Lieutenant Governor to appoint Mr. Justice
Carter to be Chief Justice of the Province and Mr. L. A.
Wilmot a puisne judge, without any reference whatever
to the wishes of the Council on the subject, and this order
was obeyed. Such an easy acquiescence in claims which
could not be defended on constitutional grounds showed
that even at the period when Mr. Tilley entered public
life neither the British Government nor the people of
this Province had grasped the true meaning of the con-
stitution which was supposed to be in force in the
Province. It was absurd to pretend that Eesponsible
Government really existed in New Brunswick, if the
Crown could make appointments to the most important
offices on its mere motion, and without consulting the
wishes of the people or their representatives.
There were many people in New Brunswick at that '
time who had been ready to support constitutional
improvements which directly affected their own interests,
but who became very lukewarm advocates for reform
when this spur to their activity was removed. They
desired changes in the law relative to matters which
directly touched themselves, but with respect to constitu-
tional questions which were of more general interest, they
held sometimes very conservative views. We can trace
in the old system of family compact elements and
conditions which afterwards arose in this Province and
affected its politics. New Brunswick has always been
slow to adopt constitutional changes, even when these
changes were based on sound principles, and there has
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 173
often been a great disposition on the part of our people
to judge the merits of a question rather by its effect upon
individuals than by its relation to the public interests.
No person who has studied the political history of this
Province in recent times will deny that this spirit still
prevails, and it is one which has a continual tendency to
make our people backward in political matters. Yet it
is difficult now to understand how the people of New
Brunswick so long endured the system by which they
were governed, where a few powerful families controlled
all the offices and all the influence, and legislated largely
to suit themselves. Such a state of affaire could only
have been tolerated by persons who had been trained to
regard these influential families as their political superiors,
and to accept with meekness whatever they might choose
to impose upon them.
I have now traced step by step the progress of the
principal reforms in the constitution of this Province
which were brought about between the year 1818, when
Mr. Tilley was born, and 1850, when he became a mem-
ber of the Legislature. These reforms were not brought
about suddenly, nor were they achieved without difficulty,
for there is in the human mind a strong inclination to
cling to old customs and to old methods in politics as in
other matters, which in itself is sufficient to prevent the
accomplishment of any great change at once. This
conservative spirit was very powerful in New Bruns-
wick, and there were large classes of people within
the Province to whom all changes were objectionable,
174 LIFE AND TIMES OF
because they had a strong interest in permitting matters
to remain as they were. Under these circumstances, and
considering that these people had the ear of the Colonial
office, we need not be so much surprised that the changes
were resisted so long, as that they were at length accom-
plished. The British Government, naturally conservative
in its views, and paying but little heed to the Colonies,
notwithstanding the lessons furnished by the revolution
which separated the thirteen colonies from the mother
country, was not disposed to proceed fast in the work of
reform when so large a class in the colonies were so
firmly opposed to all reform. Thus the Liberals who
sought to bring about a better state of affairs were on
every side surrounded with difficulties, and their work
could never have been accomplished successfully had it
not been that the other Colonies of the British empire
were at the same time struggling for similar changes,
and pressing upon the British government those reforms
in the Colonial system which were necessary to make
the Provincial Governments popular and efficient. Hav-
ing thus cleared the ground for the main feature of the
story, and explained the condition of the Province at the
time of his entrance into public life, the hour has come
in which to bring the man himself upon the stage, and
hereafter the story of political progress in this Province
will be the story of Mr. Tilley's own life.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 175
CHAPTEK VI.
In the United States, and particularly in the New
England States, the fact that a man's ancestors came over
in the " Mayflower " is regarded as almost as clear a
proof of good family as in England the legend that the
head of a family came over with William the Conqueror.
To have been descended from one of the earliest English
settlers of this continent is certainly a distinction, and at
all events stamps the wearer of it as being an American
to the fullest extent, and one " to the manner born." This
distinction Sir Leonard Tilley enjoys, for among those
who came over in the "Mayflower " in 1620, and landed
at Plymouth, were two brothers, Edward and John Tilley.
History does not preserve any very full record of these
two persons, because they both died at an early period in
the settlement of the Colony. But there is no doubt that
Sir Leonard Tilley is a lineal descendant of John Tilley,
who came over in company with Winslow, Brewster and
Miles Standish two hundred and seventy-three years ago.
The origin of the Tilley family is probably to be found in
France or Germany, there having been several eminent
176 LIFE AND TIMES OF
persons of that name on the continent of Europe. This,
however, is a matter which I leave to the antiquarian,
and which does not greatly concern the present history.
The great grandfather of Sir Leonard Tilley was Samuel
Tilley, who was a farmer on Long Island at the time of
the Revolutionary war. His farm was then within the
boundaries of the present city of Brooklyn, and the curi-
ous in such matters can find the very lot upon which he
resided laid down upon some of the ancient maps of that
locality. At the time the British occupied Long Island,
after the battle which took place there in the autumn of
1776 and the defeat of the Americans, the Brooklyn
farmers were called upon to provide cattle for the susten-
ence of the troops. Samuel Tilley, being a loyal man and
a friend of the government complied, and for this he was
made the subject of an attack by the disloyal element
among his neighbors, and in the course of time was
compelled to seek shelter within the British lines. The
occupation of Long Island by the British during the whole
period of the war made it secure enough for Samuel
Tilley, as. well as for loyal men who lived in the vicinity
of Brooklyn, but when the war was over it became
necessary for him to seek shelter in Nova Scotia, the acts
of confiscation and banishment against the Loyalists being
of the most severe character. Samuel Tilley came to
this Province in the spring fleet, which arrived in St.
John in May, 1783, and was a grantee of Parrtown. He
erected a house and store on King street, on the south
side, just to the east of Germain, on the lot now occupied
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 177
by the store of George Eobertson & Co., and there com-
menced a business which he continued for several years.
He died at St. John in the year 1815. His wife was
Elizabeth Morgan, who survived him for many years and
died in the North end in 1835, aged eighty-four years.
Sir Leonard Tilley was not born when his great grand-
father died, but has a clear recollection of his great
grandmother, who lived for about four years after he came
to reside at St. John. James Tilley, the grandfather
of Sir Leonard, was also a grantee of Parrtown, he having
purchased for a trifling sum when a boy a lot on Princess
street, which had been drawn by some person who was
anxious to dispose of it. This lot, after lying uncared
for and unthought of for a great many years, was finally
sold to the late Charles Patton for the sum of $400, and
the house in which he died, erected after the great fire, is
built upon it. James Tilley was a resident of Sunbury
County and a magistrate there for a great many years,
dying in the year 1851.
Sir Leonard Tilley's father, Thomas Morgan Tilley, was
born in 1790, and served his time with Israel Gove, who
was a house joiner and builder. He spent his early days
as a lumberman getting out ship timber, his operations
being carried on mainly at Tautiwanty, in the rear of
Upper Gagetown. He afterwards went into business at
Gagetown and kept a store there up to the time of his
death, which took place in 1870. Sir Leonard's grand-
mother, on his father's side, was Mary Chase, of the
Chase family of Massachusetts, she having come from
178 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Freetown, in that state. Sir Leonard's mother was Susan
Ann Peters, daughter of William Peters, who was for
many years a prominent farmer in Queens County, and
a member of the Legislative Assembly. William Peters
owned a large property and had one of the finest tracts
of land possessed by any man in the Province in his day.
But he was unwise enough to sell it for the purpose of
obtaining money with which to enter into lumbering with
William Wilmot, the father of the late Governor Wilmot,
and being unsuccessful in his operations, his whole
fortune was swept away. The ancestors of William
Peters were from New York state, from which they came
with the rest of the Loyalists in 1783. The future
Finance Minister of Canada and Governor of New
Brunswick was born at Gagetown in May, 1818, in the
house to which his father had removed after his marriage
to Susan Ann Peters in 1817. This house is now
Simpson's Hotel. It was originally built by a Dr.
Stickles, a German who settled in Gagetown soon after
the Loyalist immigration, and who resided in it for some
years. It was purchased from Dr. Stickles by Samuel
Tilley, the great grandfather of Sir Leonard, and sold by
him to his father, Thomas Morgan Tilley, together with
the three acres of land attached to it. Gagetown was
at that period and still is, one of the most beautiful coun-
try places in New Brunswick, for the river St. John flows
in front of it and Gagetown Creek, which is almost as
wide as the river, laves its shores. The laud in the
vicinity is fertile and productive, and fine old trees line
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 179
the streets, giving an air of beauty and refinement to the
locality. Not many facts in connection with Sir Leonard
Tilley's infancy are preserved, nor would they be of much
interest to the reader of a political biography^ It is
proper, however, to mention that he was named after
his uncle, Samuel Leonard Peters, and that the latter was
named after an English school master named Samuel
Leonard, who was a great favorite with William Peters,
the grandfather of the subject of this biography. Samuel
Leonard, after leaving Gagetown, appears to have removed
to Nova Scotia, and probably died in that Province.
When Sir Leonard was five years old he commenced
going to the Madras school in Gagetown, of which Samuel
Babbitt was teacher. He attended this school from 1823
until 1827, when the Grammar school was started in
Gagetown. The Madras school system was at that time
in high favor with the people of the Province, and these
schools received large grants from the government, it
being thought that this system was more advantageous
than any other for the instruction of youth. This
idea, however, did not prove to be universally correct, for
in the course of a few years we find the Legislature
declaring that while they believed the Madras system
suitable to towns and populous places, it did not answer
so well in rural districts. Samuel Babbitt, the teacher
of the Madras school, was an uncle of Samuel Babbitt,
who was afterwards cashier of the Peoples Bank, and
whom many of our citizens remember. Samuel Babbitt,
the elder, was Clerk of the Parish, and according to the
180 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Custom of that day, led the responses in church. The
rector of Gagetown at this period was Rev. Samuel Clark.
The teacher of the Grammar school to \vhich Sir Leonard
Tilley went from 1827 to 1831 was William Jenkins, a
graduate of Dublin University. He was an uncle of
Dr. Hea, who was for a short period president of the
University of New Brunswick. Jenkins was a very
severe man, and believed in the doctrine that he who
spares the rod spoils the child, and Sir Leonard has a
very vivid recollection of the vigor with which he applied
the birch. He removed from Gagetown shortly after the
year 1831, and took up his residence in Quebec, where
he conducted a large school for many years, dying about
the year 1863. Sir Leonard, after he had become a well
known political character and a member of the govern-
ment of New Brunswick, had the pleasure of paying him
a visit some time in the year 1858. Among the boys
who were with young Tilley at the Grammar school were
Dr. George Peters, H. S. Peters, Edward Peters and Dr.
Murray Peters, sons of the then Attorney General of this
Province ; the Rev. James Disbrow and Robert Disbrow,
sons of Noah Disbrow ; Dr. Harry Peters, son of the late
Hon. Harry Peters ; also Richard and Nelson DeVeber,
sons of L. H. DeVeber and Gabriel DeVeber, son of the
late Sheriff DeVeber. There were also Robertson Bayard,
LeBaron Drury, Thomas Hanford, Rev. H. Jar vis and
Gustavus Jarvis. All these mentioned above are now
dead. Among the living persons who went to Gagetown
Grammar school at that time were Henry, Thomas and
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 181
. James Gilbert, sons of Henry Gilbert, Dr. William Bay-
ard, of this city, and John Emery Doe, of Portland, Maine
who is now about eighty years of age, and who was then
the oldest boy in the school. An interesting incident
occurred in 1827, at the time young Tilley commenced to
attend the Grammar school. Sir Howard Douglas, who
was then Governor of New Brunswick, paid a visit to
Gagetown, and was the guest of Colonel Harry Peters
then the Speaker of the House of Assembly. While the
Governor and his host weve walking through Gagetown
they met young Tilley and a son of Harry Peters return-
ing from school, and the boys were introduced to His
Excellency, who presented each of them with a Spanish
quarter dollar. Sir Leonard can still remember as well
as if it had taken place yesterday the appearance of Sir
Howard Douglas, dressed in a blue coat and brass buttons,
a fine, erect looking gentleman, with a pleasant face and
a kindly sm'ile. Little thought the then Governor of New
Brunswick that the boy to whom he was speaking, a lad
of nine years of age, would fifty years later, sit in his
own chair in the Government House.
Young Tilley was not one of those home staying youths
who was likely to be satisfied to reside all his life in
Gagetown. Other boys of less ambition might be content
to settle down on the farm and to fulfil their destinies
within the comparatively limited sphere of action which
that little town in Queens County afforded, but Samuel
Leonard Tilley had within him longings for a higher
destiny, and a desire to reach more elevated heights than
182 LIFE AND TIMES OF
he was likely to attain as a mere resident of a rural
district. In those days ambitious boys went early as
apprentices to the line of business which they had elected
to follow. This was a necessity because the years of
apprenticeship were long. Full fledged journeymen were
not manufactured in those days in three or four years,
but it took seven years at least to give a boy a trade, and
to make him a free man, competent to stand with his
fellows in the line of industry which he had chosen.
Young Tilley came to St. John in May, 1831, he then
having reached the age of thirteen. He at once entered
as a clerk in the drug store of the late Dr. Henry Cook,
it being the fashion of those times for medical men to
have a drug store in connection with their professional
practice, so that they could give advice, prescribe and
dispense medicines with equal facility. At that period
St. John was a very different town from what it is at the
present day, and although some people are disposed to
regret the old days, it is quite certain that if we could
have the St. John of 1831 restored to us we should be
very ill-content to reside in it, or to put up with the
inconveniences which a residence in it involved.
We have a contemporary account of St. John, written
by a stranger, a British officer, who visited it in 1832.
He reached this city by way of River DuLoup, Grand
Falls and Fredericton, and he describes, in a book which
he published giving an account of his travels, the position
and prospects of the city very intelligently and clearly.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 183
The town, containing nearly 11,000 inhabitants, is built upon
a rocky and irregular promontory, formed by the harbour and
the river which here empties itself into the Bay of Fuiidy. The
principal streets are broad, well paved, and neatly laid out, with
excellent private dwellings, and some elegant stone public edifices.
The corporation in a most spirited manner are laying out large
sums of money in beautifying and levelling the streets, though
much to the inconvenience of private individuals, whose houses
at the bottom of some hills have been blocked up by these im-
provements to the attic windows, so that a passer by may peep
into the first or second story. On the summit of the hill again
30 feet of solid rock have been cut away, leaving the dwellings
perched 011 high, and allowing the occupants a view of little else
save sky and the occasional roof of a lofty house. The barracks,
a fine extensive range of buildings, with some small batteries
overlooking the sea and commanding the entrance to the har-
bour, occupy an elevated and pleasant situation in front of the
town, whence in clear weather the opposite coast of Nova Scotia
can be seen across the Bay of Fundy.
Everything about St. John presented the air of a flourishing
place, and numerous vessels were upon the stocks in the upper
part of the bay, where the tide rises to the height of 30 feet. In
point of commercial importance it is the capital of New Bruns-
wick, and upwards of 400 square rigged vessels enter the port
annually, exporting more than 100,000 tons of square timber.
Young Tilley continued as a clerk with Dr. Cook until
February, 1835, when he entered the service of the late
W. 0. Smith, who, from 1857 to 1860, was Mayor of
this city. Mr. Smith, at that time, had his drug store on
the north side of Market Square, at the corner of Prince
William street, a locality which is still dedicated to the
same use, although now in different hands. It was while
I a clerk with William 0. Smith that Tilley became a
184 LIFE AND TIMES OF
member of the St. John Young Men's Debating Society,
an organization which, if it has no other claim to the
O
remembrance of posterity, at least has the merit of
giving one distinguished statesman to British America,
and a Governor to this Province. It was in this society
that young Tilley made his first attempt at public
speaking, and it may be said that from the very
beginning he showed a remarkable aptitude for debate
and public discussions. The surviving members
of the Society besides Sir. S. L. Tilley, are James H.
Delancey and Kobert Smith. The late Sheriff, James A.
Harding, and Joseph W. Lawrence also belonged to it, so
that it will be seen that at least three of the members of
the society entered public life.
In December, 1837, our future Governor took one of
the most important steps of his life by espousing the
cause of total abstinence. Having taken up this move-
ment he threw his whole energy into it, and from that
time down to the present he has "been a consistent tem-
perance man, and a strong advocate of the principle of
total abstinence. It was, perhaps, this strong advocacy
of the cause of temperance more than any other reason
that brought him before the public as a suitable person
to become a candidate for the House of Assembly, and
led to his first election as a representative for the city of
St. John in the Local Legislature thirteen years later.
Certainly the fact that Mr. Tilley, from that time until
the close of his public career, had always the support of
the temperance bodies, gave him a strength which he
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 185
hardly would have obtained otherwise, and rallied
around him a phalanx of friends, who for fidelity to his
interests and zeal for his political advancement, could
hardly have been surpassed.
Mr. Tilley commenced business on his own account in
1838, before he had attained the a^e of twenty years, as
a member of the firm of Peters & Tilley, and he continued
a successful business career until 1855, when he trans-
ferred his business to Mr. T. B. Barker, senior member of
the present firm of T. B. Barker & Sons. It is unneces-
sary to say anything more in regard to Mr. Tilley's career
as a business man, further than that it was a highly
prosperous one. Mr. Tilley showed so much energy and
enterprise in business matters that when he entered
political life he was comparatively wealthy. There is no
doubt that if he had continued in business instead of
devoting his energies to the services of the Province and
Dominion, he would have made far more money than he
has done as a politician. I have the authority of Mr.
Tilley for stating that his private means have npt been
increased by his political career, and that any wealth he
possesses at present is the result of his success in business
early in life, and the accumulations from his private
property.
At a meeting of the electors of the city of St. John in
favor of protection, which was held at the office of Bar-
zilla Ansley previous to the general election of 1850, Mr.
Tilley was nominated as one of the candidates for the city
of St. John. He was not present at-the meeting and had
186 LIFE AND TIMES OF
no knowledge whatever of the intention of the electors to
make such a nomination. A meeting of the electors was
called a few nights later in Carleton to confirm the nom-
ination made at Mr. Ansley's office, and at that meeting
Mr. Tilley was present. He then made the strongest
possible protest against the nomination, but the electors
present would not take no for an answer, and he eventu-
ally consented to stand as a candidate, informing them at
the same time that he had an engagement to be in Boston
on the day fixed for the nomination, and could not there-
fore be at the hustings on that day. Notwithstanding
this statement they still persisted in his nomination, and,
as Mr. Tilley was absent in the United States, his nom-
ination speech on that occasion was made by Mr. Joseph
W. Lawrence, who was afterwards found among his
strongest opponents. At the general election of 1850 all
of the candidates elected for the City and County and for
the City of St. John were avowed opponents of the
Government. The constituency of St. John did not con-
tain so many voters at that time as it does at present.
Mr. Tilley, who was at the head of the poll, received on
that occasion 943 votes, while Mr. W. H. Needham, who
came next and who was likewise elected, had 752 votes.
Mr. Ansley, who was defeated, received 724 votes, and
Mr. Isaac Woodward, 336. The members elected for the
County were E. 1). Wilmot, William J. Eitchie, John H.
Gray and Charles Simonds ; while J. E. Partelow, Charles
Watters and John Jordan were the three defeated candi-
dates. The list of candidates for the City and County of
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 187
St. John included two future Governors, a future Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and two other
Judges, to say nothing of the ex-Provincial Secretary,
Mr. Partelow, a Speaker of the House of Assembly and
a future Mayor of St. John. It must be admitted that
few elections that have ever been held in any part of
P>ritish North America have had so many candidates
presented to the electors who were afterwards eminent in
public life.
Of the forty-one members of the House of Assembly
elected in 1850 only one, Sir Leonard Tilley, is now liv-
ing. He was elected at an important epoch in the history
of the Province, when the old order was passing away and
men's minds were prepared for the great change that was
to take place in the political aspect of affairs. It was a
reform House of Assembly, and although all the members
elected for the purpose of upholding reform principles did
not prove true to their trust, still it contained a larger
number of men of Liberal views than any of its
predecessors.
Among the members of this House were several who
had taken a very important part in public affairs, or who
afterwards became members of the Executive. The
County of York sent among its representatives Lemuel
A. Wilmot, who had been a member of the House for
twenty-five years, and who had taken a leading part in
many measures of importance for the improvement of the
system by which the country was governed. Mr. Wilmot
was a man of tall and commanding presence, a natural
188 LIFE AND TIMES OF
orator with a fine flow of language and abundance of
action. As a stump speaker he could hardly be surpassed,
and while his mind was not of great force, he was acute
and well fitted for the work to which he had to apply
himself. Mr. Wilniot was not a great man because he i
lacked thoroughness, and also w r as somewhat deficient in
courage ; but after all deductions have been made, it
cannot be denied that he performed great services to his
native Province, and that he was one who is worthy to be
remembered with honor and respect among her dis-
tinguished sons. He became a Judge of the Supreme |
Court of the Province, and was its first native Governor.
Mr. Charles Fisher, who had been a colleague of Mr.
Wilmot in the County of York, was defeated at the
general election, but soon afterwards became a member of
the House. Mr. Fisher had not the oratorical gifts
possessed by Mr. "Wilmot, but he was even stronger in
his Liberal views, and as a constitutional lawyer he had
no equal, at that time, in the Province. Although his
manners were somewhat uncouth and his address far from
polished, Mr. Fisher had strong individuality and a
singularly clear intellect. His services in the cause of
Liberalism in New Brunswick can hardly be overesti-
mated, and these services were rendered at a time when
to be a Liberal was to be, to a large extent, ostracized by
the great and powerful, who looked upon any interference
with their vested rights as little short of treason.
Mr. Tilley's colleague from St. John city was Mr.
William H. Needhani, who afterwards represented the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 189
County of York in the Legislature. Mr. Needham was
of short and stout figure, and so bald and round that his
appearance almost involuntarily suggested low comedy ;
yet he had some remarkable gifts as a speaker and a
public man, and he might have risen to a much higher
position than he ever attained had it not been that his
principles were somewhat uncertain. In truth Mr.
Needham never succeeded hi getting sufficiently clear of
the world to be quite independent, and this misfortune
hampered him greatly in .his political career.
One of the members from St. John County was
William J. Ritchie, a lawyer who had risen by his own
efforts to a commanding position at the bar. Mr. Ritchie
had been a member of the House of Assembly for several
years, and always a useful one. He possessed, what few
members at that time had, a clear knowledge of the true
principles of Responsible Government. Mr. Ritchie had
an eminently practical mind ; he was a forcible and
impressive speaker, and he \vas bold in the enunciation of
those Liberal principles to which he held. It was a great
misfortune to the Province that at a comparatively early
age he was transferred to the Bench, so that his great
abilities were lost at a critical period when they might
have been useful to New Brunswick in many ways.
John H. Gray, a new member, also sat in this House
for the County of St. John. Mr. Gray was a man of fine
presence, handsome appearance, and had a style of oratory
that was very captivating and impressive. His fluency,
however, was greater than his ability, and he injured
190 LIFE AND TIMES OF
himself greatly by deserting the Liberal party, which he
had been elected to uphold. Mr. Gray never quite
recovered from the unpopularity connected with this
action, and he never became in any sense a real leader.
The party he had deserted soon obtained the control of
the Province, and his final appearance in the Legislature
was as a supporter of Mr. Tilley, content to play a secon-
dary part during the great Confederation conflict.
Robert Duncan Wilmot, another of the St. John County
members, was not new to the Legislature, and his mind
being naturally conservative, it is in connexion with the
Conservative party that he is best known in the history
of the Province. He was elected as a Liberal, however,
in 1850, but seemed to have forgotten that fact as soon
as he reached the House of Assembly. This was not the
only occasion on which Mr. Wilmot contrived to change
his principles, for he performed a similar feat during the
time of Confederation, and left the anti-Confederate Gov-
ernment in the lurch at a moment when its existence
almost depended on his fidelity. Mr. Wilmot never was
an eloquent man and he entertained some highly visionary
views in regard to an irredeemable paper currency, but
he was a useful public servant, and he afterwards became
a member of the government of Canada and eventually
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick.
Hon. John R. Partelow, who was now defeated in St.
John but elected for Victoria, and whose name occurs
frequently in these pages, was a man who might have
acquired a great political reputation had the stage on
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 191
t
which he appeared been a larger one. Mr. Partelow's
qualifications for high public position did not depend upon
his oratory, which was not of a high order, but upon his
moderation and good sense. Mr. Partelow was not born
in high life, his origin was lowly, and his early days were
spent as a clerk in a store on the North wharf, St. John.
Even in that humble position, he made himself so useful
and displayed so much ability that he was marked for
higher preferment. The idea which resulted in his nom-
ination as a candidate for the city of St. John seems to
have originated with his employers, but when he got to
the Legislature he speedily made his influence felt. Mr.
Partelow spoke but seldom, but when he did address the
Legislature it was generally with good effect, and after
the debate had been to a large extent exhausted by
previous speakers. He then had a faculty of drafting a
resolution which seemed to express the general sense of
all, and which was usually accepted as a solution of the
matter. Mr. Partelow was a good business man, under-
stood accounts thoroughly, and therefore had a great
advantage in legislative work over those who were not so
well equipped in this respect. New Brunswick may
have produced greater men than he in public life, but
none whose talents were more useful to the Province, or
better fitted to serve its interests at a critical period in
its constitutional history.
Shortly after the general election Chief Justice Chip-
man, who had been in infirm health, resigned his office
and a vacancy was thus left on the bench of the Supreme
192 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Court of the Province. In the natural course this office
ought to have gone to the Attorney General, Mr. L. A.
Wilmot, but this appointment was not made. The
responsibility for the result which followed is not very
easy to fix; certainly if the government had insisted on
Mr. Wilmot's appointment to the Chief Justiceship it
must have taken place, but they seem to have been unde-
cided in opinion, and perhaps were not milling to lose the
services of Mr. Wilmot in the Government. Instead of !
making the appointment, as they had a right to do, they
commenced a correspondence with the Colonial office,
which resulted in the receipt of a despatch from Downing
street, ordering the government to give the Chief Justice-
ship to Judge Carter and to offer the puisne judgeship to
Mr. Wilmot, or if he should refuse it, to Mr. Kinnear,
the Solicitor General. The Executive Council complained
that the appointment of Mr. Wilmot to a seat on the
Bench, by the authority of the Secretary of State without
the advice or recommendation of the responsible executive
within the Province, was at variance with the principles I
of Responsible Government which were understood to ;
be in force. They, however, had only themselves to
thank for this, for they were continually appealing to
Downing street, and seemed unable to act without advice
from that quarter. The government at that time was a
composite affair, supposed to be a coalition government,
but the only Liberals in it were Mr. Wilmot and Mr,
Fisher, so that it was virtually a Tory administration, for
Mr. Wilmot was now going to the Bench and Mr. Fisher
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 193
was a defeated candidate for York. As a majority of the
House had been elected as opponents of the Government,
it was supposed there would be no difficulty in bringing
about a change of administration. Mr. Simonds, of St.
John, who was reputed to be a Liberal, was elected
Speaker without opposition, and at an early day in the
session Mr. Ritchie, of St. John, moved as an amendment
to the address a want of confidence resolution. This
resolution, instead of being carried by a large majority
as was expected, was lost by a vote of 22 to 15, Messrs.
Alexander Rankine and John T. Williston of Northumber-
land, Messrs. Robert Gordon and Joseph Reed of Glouces-
ter, Mr. A. Barbarie of Restigouche, and Mr. Francis
McPhelim of Kent, having deserted their Liberal allies
and sold themselves to the Tory government. Had they
proved faithful as they were faithless the government
would have been defeated, and the Province would have
been spared another three years of an incompetent Tory
administration.
In this division Mr. Tilley and Mr. Needham, who
represented the City of St. John, voted for Mr. Ritchie's
amendment, and Messrs. R. D. Wilmot and Gray, two of
the County members, also voted with Mr. Ritchie, the
mover of the amendment, on the same side. As Mr.
Wilmot and Mr. Gray showed by their votes that they
had no confidence in the government in February, 1851,
it was with much surprise that the people of St. John, in
the August following, learned that they had become
members of the administration which they had so warmly
14
194 LIFE AND TIMES OF
condemned a few months before. Their secession from
the Liberal party destroyed whatever chance had before
existed of ousting the government. Mr. Fisher seceded
from the government in consequence of their action in
reference to the judicial appointments, and Mr. John
Ambrose Street, who was a member for Northumberland,
became Attorney General. Mr. Street was a ready
debater and a strong Conservative, and his entrance into
the government at that time showed that a Conservative
policy was to be maintained.
Mr. Street presented a long programme of measures for
the consideration of the legislature, none of which proved
to be of any particular value. The municipal corporations
bill was passed, but it was a permissive measure, and was
not taken advantage of by any of the counties. A bill
to make the Legislative Council elective, which was also
passed in the lower House at the instance of the govern-
ment, was defeated in the upper chamber. The bill
appointing commissioners on law reform was carried and
resulted in the production of the three volumes of the
Eevised Statutes, issued in 1854, with which the gentle-
men of the legal profession are familiar. The most
important bill of the session, introduced by the govern-
ment, was one in aid of the construction of a railroad
from St. John to Shediac. This bill provided that the
government should give a company 250,000 Sterling, to
assist in the construction of the line referred to. There
was also a bill to assist the St. Andrews and Quebec
Railroad to the extent of 50,000, and a bonus or sub-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 195
vention to the Shediac line amounting to upwards of
$11,000 a mile, for which sum a very good railway could
be constructed at the present time. It may be stated
here, that although the company was formed and under-
took to build a railway to Shediac under the terms
offered by the government, the Province had eventually
to construct the road at a cost of $40,000 a mile, or fully
double what a similar road could be constructed for now.
One of the measures brought forward by the govern-
ment at this session was with reference to the schools of
the Province. Mention has already been made of the
inefficient character of the provincial schools in 1818, and
they had improved but little at the period when Mr.
Tilley entered public life. The idea of taxing the property
of the country, for the support of public schools had not
then found any general acceptance in this Province ;
indeed it was not till the year 1872 that the measure
embodying this principle was passed by the Legislature.
The government school bill of 1851 provided that the
teachers were to be paid in money, or board and lodging,
by the district to the amount of 10 for six months, in
addition to the government allowance. This bill was
a very slight improvement on the act then in force,
and as the government left it to the House to deal with,
and did not press it as a government measure, it was not
passed. A private member, Mr. Gilbert, of Queens, at
this session proposed to convert Kings College into an
agricultural school, with a model farm in connection.
Kings College had been established by an act passed in
196 LIFE AND TIMES OF
1829, and had received a large endowment from the
Province, but it never was a popular institution, because
of its connection with a single church. The charter of
the college made the Bishop of the diocese the Visitor,
and required the President to be always a clergyman of
of the Church of England. The number of students who
attended it was always small, and it was shown, in the
course of the debate on Mr. Gilbert's bill, that it had
failed to fulfil the object for which it was created. The
college council contsisted of fifteen members, of whom ten
were Episcopalians ; and the Visitor, the Chancellor, the
President, the Principal, five out of seven of the professors
and teachers, and the two examiners were members of the
Church of England. The services in the college chapel
were required to be attended by all resident students, and
of the eighteen students then in the college sixteen were
Episcopalians. It was felt that this college required to
be placed on a different footing, and Mr. Gilbert's bill,
although it provoked much comment at the time, certainly
would have been more beneficial to the educational inter-
ests of the country, if it had passed, than the state of affairs
which resulted from the continuance of the old system.
An agricultural school was the very thing the Province
required, while, judging from the limited attendance at
the college from its foundation to the present time, the
people of this Province are not greatly impressed with the
value of a classical education. In 1851, however, anyone
who proposed to replace the college for the teaching of
Greek and Latin with a college of agriculture, and the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 197
sciences allied to it, was looked upon as a Philistine.
Then youths were taught to compose Latin and to read
Greek who never to the day of their death had a com-
petent knowledge of their own language ; and agricultural
studies, which were of the highest importance to more
than one-half of the people of the Province, were totally
neglected. Mr. Gilbert's bill was defeated, as it was
certain to be in a Legislature which was still under the
domination of old ideas. Had it passed, New Brunswick
might at this time have had a large body of scientific
farmers, capable of cultivating the soil in the most
efficient manner, and increasing its productiveness to an
extent hardly dreamed of by those who only consider it
in the light of the present system of cultivation.
During this session Mr. Eitchie, of St. John, moved
another series of resolutions condemning the government,
and complaining of the Colonial office and of the conduct
of the Governor. These resolutions declared first that
the House was entitled to full copies of all despatches
addressed to or received from the Colonial office, and that
it was not enough merely to send extracts from a despatch
which had been received by the Governor. They declared
that the appointments to offices were invested in the
Governor by and with the advice of the Executive Coun-
cil, and that the appointment of the Chief Justice and of
a puisne judge by the Governor, contrary to the advice
of his Council, was inconsistent with the principles of
Responsible Government. They complained that the
salaries were excessive, and condemned the refusal of the
198 LIFE AND TIMES OF
British Government to allow the Colonies to grant
bounties for the development of their resources. These
resolutions, after being debated for about a week, were
rejected by a vote of 19 to 21, which at the time was
looked upon as virtually a Liberal victory. If the nine-
teen had been made up of men who could be relied on to
stand by their colors, in all emergencies, it would have
been a Liberal triumph, but unfortunately among the
nineteen there were some who afterwards basely deserted
their party for the sake of offices and power.
Early in August it was announced that John H. Gray
and E. D. Wilniot, two of the Liberal members for the
County of St. John, had abandoned their party and their
principles and become members of the government. The
people of St. John, who had elected these gentlemen by
a substantial majority, were naturally chagrined at such
a proof of their faithlessness, and their colleagues were
likewise greatly annoyed. Messrs. Gray and Wilmot
made the usual excuses of all deserters for their conduct,
the principal one being that they thought they could
serve the interests of the constituency and of the Province
better by being in the government than out of it. The
friends of the four members who still remained faithful,
Messrs. Tilley, Simonds, Ritchie and Needham, held a
meeting at which these gentlemen were present, and at
which it was agreed that they should join in an address
to their constituents, condemning the course of Messrs.
Wilmot and Gray, and calling on the constituency to
pronounce judgment upon it. As Mr. Wilmot, who had
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 199
been appointed to the office of Surveyor General, had to>
return to his constituency for re-election, the voice of the
constituency could only be ascertained by placing a candi-
date in the field in opposition to him. This was done,
and Allan McLean, Esq., was selected to oppose Mr.
Wilinot. The result seemed to show that the people of
St. John had condoned the offence, for Mr. Wilmot was-
re-elected by a majority of 273. As this appeared to be a
proof that they had lost the confidence of their constitu-
ents, Messrs. Simonds, Ritchie and Tilley at once resigned
their seats. This act was at the time thought by many
to indicate an excess of sensitiveness, and Mr. jSTeedham
absolutely refused to follow their example, thereby for-
feiting the regard of those who had formerly supported
him. The sequel proved that the three resigning mem-
bers were right, for they won much more in public respect
by their conduct than they lost by their temporary
exclusion from the House of Assembly.
The gentlemen returned for the three seats in St. John,
which had been vacated by the resigning members, were
James A. Harding, John Goddard and John Johnson.
Mr. Harding, who ran for the City, was opposed by S. K.
Foster. Mr. Harding was a Liberal, but this fact does
not seem to have been kept in view when he was elected.
The net result of the whole affair was that the constituency
of St. John could not be relied upon to support a Liberal
principle, or any kind of principle as against men. That
has always been a peculiarity of the St. John constitu-
encies, men being more important than measures, and
200 LIFE AND TIMES OF
frequently a mere transient feeling being set off against
the most important considerations of policy.
Mr. Tilley was not in the House of Assembly during
the sessions of 1852, 1853 and 1854; that period was
one, however, of development in political matters and of
substantial progress. The Governor's speech, at the
opening of the session of 1852, was largely devoted to
railways, and it expressed the opinion that a railroad
connecting Canada and Nova Scotia, and a connection
with a line to the United States would produce an abun-
dant return to the Province, and that by means of such a
line millions of tons of timber, then standing worthless in
the forest, would find a profitable market. It was during
this session that Messrs, Peto, Brassy and Betts proposed
to construct the European and North American railroad
on certain conditions. The subsidies offered by the
Province at this time were 20,000 a year for twenty
years, and a million acres of land for the European and
North American line, as the line to the United States was
termed ; and for the Quebec line 20,000 Sterling, for
twenty years and two millions acres of land. A new
company, which included Mr. Jackson, M. P., offered to
build the New Brunswick section of both railroads, upon
the Province granting them a subsidy of 20,000 a year
for twenty years, and four millions acres of land. Attor-
ney General Street introduced a series of railway resolu-
tions favoring the building of the Intercolonial Eailway
jointly by the three Provinces, according to terms which
had been agreed upon by the delegates of each. This
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 201
arrangement was that the Intercolonial Eailroad should
be built through the valley of the St. John, and for
favoring resolutions in the House confirming this arrange-
ment, Mr. Street's Northumberland constituency called
upon him to resign his seat, a step which he refused to
take.
The government railway resolutions were carried by a
large majority. During the recess Mr. Chandler, as a
representative of New Brunswick, and Mr. Hincks, a
representative of Canada, went to London to endeavor to
obtain from the British Government a sum sufficient to
build the Intercolonial Railway. The request of the
delegates was refused on the ground that such a work had
to be one of military necessity, and that the route which
had been selected, by the valley of the St. John, was not
a proper one for military purposes. The British Govern-
ment then and for long afterwards, took but little interest
in Canadian affairs, except to interfere with the distri-
bution of patronage, and certainly these Provinces cannot
claim to have received any large amount of favor from
the British Government, either in sympathy or love, as
compared with nations alien in blood to the British race,
for whose sake enormous expenditures have been incurred
with but little advantage to the British people. As Mr.
Chandler could not obtain what he wished from the
British Government, he applied to Messrs. Peto, Brassy
and Betts, who said they were prepared to build all the
railroads that New Brunswick might require, upon the
most advantageous terms. Mr. Jackson visited the
202 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Province in September of the same year, and it was
agreed that his company would build a railway from St.
John to Amherst, and from St. John to the United States
frontier, the distance being then estimated at 214 miles,
for the sum of 6,500 Sterling per mile. The Province was
to take stock to the extent of 1,200 per mile, and to loan
its bonds to the company for 1,800 additional per mile.
The completion of this arrangement caused great rejoicing
in the Province, especially in St. John ; a special session
of the Legislature being called on the 21st of October for
the express purpose of amending the Eailway Act so that
it might conform to the new conditions. As both
branches of the Legislature were strongly in favor of the
railway policy of the government the necessary bills were
speedily passed and the Legislature was prorogued after
a session of eight days.
The meeting of the Legislature in 1853 derived its
principal importance from the fact that much of its time
was taken up with the discussion on the question of a
reciprocity treaty with the United States of America.
The discussion disclosed a strong disinclination on the
part of many members to any arrangement by which the
fisheries should be surrendered. The tone of the dis-
cussions on this subject, both in 1853 and 1854, shows
that reciprocity with the United States was not generally
regarded as being an equivalent for the surrender of the
fisheries to our neighbors, and it is quite clear that so far
as New Brunswick is concerned, the reciprocity treaty
would not have been agreed to had it not been that the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 203
matter was in the hands of the British Government, and
that the Legislature of this Province was not disposed to
resist strenuously any arrangement that the British
Government had made. At that time our Legislature had
been so much accustomed to defer to the wishes of the
Colonial office that it was impossible to bring public
opinion to bear solidly against any British treaty, however
unfavorable to Colonial interests. No important legislation
was passed during the session of 1853, but a curious
illustration of the undeveloped political condition of the
Province was furnished by the discussion which took
place in regard to the new election bill brought in by the
Attorney General. This bill did not provide for vote by
ballot, which many members of the House desired, and
when the subject came to be discussed it was found that
some members. of the government spoke and voted in
favor of the ballot and others against it. The Executive
of 1853 did not appear to regard itself as a unit, nor did
its members consider it necessary that they should be in
accord with each other.
The session of 1854 was the last in which the old order
of things controlled the Legislature. The people of New
Brunswick had been a long time in emancipating them-
selves from the control of the British Government and
the Colonial office, because they were not united, there
always being a large element in the Province interested
in the continuance of the old order of things. Neverthe-
less the time had come when men with family influence
and loud professions of loyalty could no longer exclusively
204 LIFE AND TIMES OF
control affairs in the Province. New men were coming
upon the political stage and bringing with them new
ideas and new influences. It was felt that hereafter New
Brunswick must be governed for the benefit of its people
generally, and not merely of a few favored individuals.
It was also felt that it was impossible that the Province
could longer endure to be treated like a spoiled child, and
its members harangued and lectured by some second-rate
placeman, who had succeeded in obtaining the Governor-
ship. When it is remembered that Colonial Governors
were looked upon by the British people as almost an
inferior set of beings, the political wrecks of the time,
it is astonishing with what readiness our people were
willing to accept their advice, and to regard it with
almost as much awe as if it had been a mandate from the
Most High. Sir Edmund Head, who seems to have been
a person utterly unsuited to govern a Colony, had the
assurance to forward a despatch to the Colonial Secretary
in 1853, in which he denounced all the legislative
methods then in existence in the Provinces, and reproved
the gentlemen who were by courtesy regarded as his
official advisers for their neglect of duty. It is quite
possible that the remarks of the Governor were true
enough, but there was a gross impropriety in him com-
municating with the Colonial office in secret, to the
detriment of the Executive, for the purpose of weakening
the influence of the very men that he had called to his
Council, and in whom he professed to have perfect
confidence.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY 205
The House, which had been elected in 1850, was dis-
solved shortly after the prorogation, and the election came
on in the month of July. It was a memorable occasion
because it was certain that the topics discussed by the
House then to be elected would be of the very highest
importance. One of these subjects was the reciprocity
treaty, which at that time had been arranged with the
United States through the British Government. This
treaty provided for the free interchange of certain natural
products between the great republic and the several
Provinces which now form the Dominion of Canada, and
it had been brought about through the efforts of Lord
Elgin, who at that time was Her Majesty's representative
in the United States. The treaty was agreed on the 5th
of June, and was subject to ratification by the Imperial
Parliament and the Legislatures of these British North
American Colonies which were affected by it. In the
St. John constituencies there was at that time a strong
feeling in favor of the protection policy, but this did not
interfere with the desire to effect the interchange of raw
material with the United States on advantageous terms.
Mr. Tilley had been originally nominated as a protec-
tionist, and still held views favorable to the encourage-
ment and protection of native industries by means of the
tariff, but he was also favorable to reciprocity with the
United States, if it could be obtained in such a manner
as to be beneficial to this Province. At the general
election he led the poll in the City of St. John, his
colleague being the late James A. Harding, for many
206 LIFE AND TIMES OF
years High Sheriff of the County, who had been elected
at a bye-election to the previous House. For the County
Mr. William J. Eitchie was one of the successful candi-
dates and the only Liberal returned for that constituency.
The other members for the County were the Hon. John
E. Partelow, Eobert 1). Wiluiot and John H. Gray.
The new House was called together on the 19th of
October, for the purpose of ratifying the reciprocity
treaty, and Hon. I). L. Hannington was elected Speaker
by a vote of 23 to 13. This gave the Opposition an
earlier opportunity of defeating the Street-Partelow
administration than would under ordinary circumstances
have been possible. The amendment to the address was
moved by the Hon. Charles Fisher, and was an indictment
of the government for their various shortcomings and
offences. The amendment was to expunge the whole of
the fifth paragraph and substitute for it the following :
" It is with feelings of loyalty and attachment to Her
Majesty's person and government that we recognize in
that provision of the treaty which requires the concur-
rence of this Legislature, a distinct avowal by the Imperial
Government of their determination to preserve inviolate
the principles of self government, and to regard the
constitution of the Province as sacred as that of the
parent state. We regret that the conduct of the admin-
istration, during the last few years, has not been in
accordance with these principles, and we feel constrained
thus early to state to your Excellency that your constitu-
tional advisers have not conducted the government of the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. ' 207
Province in the true spirit of our Colonial constitution."
This amendment was offered on the 23rd of October,
and debated on the 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th. On
the latter of these days the vote was taken and the
amendment was carried by the following vote :
Yeas Charles Fisher, William J. Ritchie, Albert J.
Smith, James A. Harding, John M. Johnston, Abner R.
McClelau, James Steadman, P. McNaughton, William
End, Charles MacPherson, George L. Hatheway, Charles
Connell, S. L. Tilley, A. H. Gillmor, John McAdam,
James Brown, Francis McPhelim, R. B. Cutler, R. Sutton,
C. Botsford, John Farris, R. English, J. Tibbits, A. Lan-
dry, G. Ryan, E. Lunt and E. Stevens.
Nays Hon. Street, Partelow, Montgomery, Wilmot,
Gray, Hay ward, and James Boyd, F. Rice, J. Taylor, H.
W. Purdy, M. McLeod, S. H. Gilbert.
The general ground of accusation against the govern-
ment, and the one most strongly insisted upon, was that
it had yielded to the influence of the Colonial office in
the appointment of Judge Wilmot. It was well known
that the government at that time did not consider it
necessary to appoint another judge ; at all events they
took no steps to bring about another appointment ; but
they yielded to the Colonial office, and the pressure put
upon them by Sir Edmund Head, the Lieutenant Gover-
nor, so far as to acquiesce in the appointment of Judge
Carter as Chief Justice, and the elevation of Mr. Wilmot
to the Bench. This was a fair ground of attack, because
it was clear that if the Executive Council of New Bruns-
208 LIFE AND TIMES OF
wick was under the orders of the home government,
representative institutions and Responsible Government
in this Province did not exist. A strange thing happened
in connection with this vote, one which, perhaps, has
never been paralleled in any Legislature. The mover of
the address was James Brown, a member from the County
of Charlotte, and the seconder was Enoch Lunt, who was
one of the members from the County of Sunbury ; yet
when the vote was taken on Mr. Fisher's amendment,
both Mr. Brown and Mr. Lunt voted for it, thus assisting
to defeat the government, which, it was to be presumed by
their moving and seconding the address, they were willing
to support. This incident alone illustrates the state of
political infancy in which the people of 1854 in this
Province still were. For Mr. Brown, who was an honest
man, said that he did not know when he was moving the
address that there was any politics in it, and he thought
he must vote for the motion affirming the right of New
Brunswick to make its own appointments.
Thus the Street-Partelow government fell, and with it
disappeared at once and forever the old Conservative
regime which had existed in the Province from its
foundation, and which had hindered and stifled the de-
velopment of our free institutions, and deprived the
people of New Brunswick of the best fruits of representa-
tive government. It was a great triumph for the cause
of Liberalism that the Conservatives of that period were
not only defeated, but swept altogether out of existence.
After that a government of men who called themselves
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 209
Conservatives might go into power, but the old state of
affairs under which the Lieutenant Governor could exer-
cise despotic powers had departed forever, and could no
more be revived than the heptarchy could be galvanized
into life. All that a Conservative government could do
after that was to fall into line with the policy they had
displaced and proceed ; less rapidly perhaps, but none the
less surely along the path of political progress.
The new government which was formed as the result
of this vote had for its Premier the Hon. Charles Fisher,
who took the office of Attorney General ; Mr. Tilley be-
came Provincial Secretary ; Mr. James Brown, a few
weeks later, received the office of Surveyor General ; J.
M. Johnston, one of the members for Northumberland,
became Solicitor General, and William J. Ritchie, Albert
J. Smith and William H. Steeves were members of the
government without offices.
On the 1st of November writs were ordered to be
issued for a new election to fill the vacancy caused by
the acceptance of office by Messrs. Tilley, Fisher and
Johnston. The bill to give effect to the reciprocity
treaty passed its third reading on the 2nd of November,
only Ryan, Purdy, Gilbert, McPhelim and Cutler voting
against it. On motion of the Hon. Mr. Ritchie, one of
the members of the new government, it was resolved that
it was desirable and expedient that the Surveyor General,
who was a political officer, should hold a seat in the
House of Assembly, and that the government should
carry out the wishes of the House in this respect. Before
210 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the House again met the wishes of the House had been
complied with and Mr. Brown, of Charlotte, became Sur-
veyor General.
The House met again on the 1st of February, 1855,
and then the real reform of the legislation of the govern-
ment began. In the speech from the throne it was stated
that the Customs Act would expire in the course of a
year, and that it was necessary that a new act should be
passed. A better system of auditing the public accounts
was also recommended, and a better system of electing
members to the Legislature. On the 5th of March cor-
respondence was brought down, dated the 15th of August
previous, announcing on the part of the Imperial Govern-
ment the withdrawal of the Imperial Customs establish-
ment, which was considered to be no longer necessary,
and stating that as the duties of these offices were now
mainly in connection with the registration of vessels in
the Colonies, and the granting of certificates of the origin
of Colonial products, this work would hereafter be per-
formed by the Colonial officers. A letter addressed to the
comptrollers and other Customs officers, had informed
them that their services would be discontinued after the
5th of January, 1855. So disappeared the last remnant
of the old Imperial Custom House system, which had
been the cause of so many difficulties in all the Colonies,
which was the real occasion of the revolution which
separated the thirteen Colonies from the mother country,
and which in the other American colonies which were left
to England, had always been regarded as a grievance.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 211
The new government resolved to make Responsible
Government a reality, and to at once bring about a con-
dition of affairs which would end the waste and extra-
vagance which had prevailed under the old system of
appropriation. One of their first measures was to vest in
themselves the initiation of all money grants, so that no
private member hereafter could move the appropriation of
money for public purposes, except by the consent or
through the action of the government. This was a
change which had long been demanded but had been
steadily resisted by private members, because their
self interest was concerned in the old order of things. It
has already been explained how under the old system
" log rolling " prevailed, one man voting for an appropria-
tion in some distant county of the, merits of which he
knew nothing, on condition that the member from that
county would vote for an appropriation which he desired
to have, although it might not be at all in the general
interest. The government also undertook to frame a new
tariff, and therefore about in a double sense to grasp the
control of the finances of the Province,
212 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTEK VII.
The great measure of the session of 1855 was the law
to prevent the importation, manufacture, or selling of
liquor. This bill was brought in by Mr. Tilley as a
private member, and not on behalf of the government.
It was introduced on the 3rd of March. Considering its
great importance and the fact that it led to a crisis in the
affairs of the government and the temporary defeat of the
Liberal party, this measure went through the House with
comparatively little difficulty. It was first considered on
the 19th of March, and a motion to postpone its further
consideration for three months was lost by a vote of 17
to 21. Amongst those who voted for the postponement
were Messrs. Ritchie, Gray and Harding of St. John,
Mr. Smith of Westmorland, and Mr. Johnston of North-
umberland. The final division of the third reading was
taken on the 27th of March, and the vote was 21 to 18,
so that every member of the House, with one exception,
voted yea or nay. The closeness of this last division
should have warned the advocates of the measure that it
was likely to produce difficulty, for it is clear that all
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 213
sumptuary laws which are intended to regulate human
affairs must be ineffectual unless they have the support
. of a large majority of the people affected by them. That
this was not the case with the prohibition liquor law was
shown by the vote iu the Legislature, and it was still more
clearly shown after the law came into operation on the
1st of January, 1856.
The passage of the prohibitory law was a bold experi-
inent, and as the sequel showed, more bold than wise.
The temperance movement in New Brunswick at that
time was hardly more than twenty years old, and New
Brunswick had always been a Province in which the
consumption of liquor was large in proportion to its popu-
lation. When it was first settled by the Loyalists, and
for many years afterwards, the use of liquor was con-
sidered necessary to happiness, if not to actual existence.
Every person consumed spirits, which generally came to
the Province in the form of Jamaica rum from the West
Indies, and as this rum was supposed to be an infallible
cure for nearly every ill that flesh is heir to, nothing could
be done at that time without its use. Large quantities
of rum were taken into the woods for the lumbermen to
give them sufficient strength to perform the laborious
work in which they ' were engaged, and if it had been
suggested that a time would come when the same work
would be done without any more powerful stimulant than
tea, the person who ventured to make such a suggestion
would have been regarded as absolutely insane. Experi-
ence has shown them that more and better work can be
214 LIFE AND TIMES OF
done, not only in the woods, but everywhere else, without
the use of stimulants than with them ; but no one could
be got to believe this fifty or sixty years ago. Every .
kind of work connected with the farm then had to be
performed by the aid of liquor. Every house raising,
every ploughing match, every meeting at which farmers
congregated, had unlimited quantities of rum as one of its
leading features. It was also used by almost every man as
a part of his regular diet ; the old stagers had their eleven
o'clock and their nip before dinner ; their regular series
of drinks in the afternoon and evening, and they actually
believed that without them life would not be worth living.
Some idea of the extent of the spirit drinking of the
Province may be gathered from the fact that in 1838,
when the population did not exceed 120,000, 312,298
gallons of rum, gin and whiskey, and 64,579 gallons of
brandy were consumed in New Brunswick. Spirits,
especially rum, was very cheap, and the duty being only
thirty cents a gallon, everyone could afford to drink it if
disposed to do so.
In 1855, it must be remembered also, that some of the
original Loyalists, who had gone to New Brunswick in
1783 were still living, and that the men and women of
the second generation were numerous. These people had
been brought up under the conditions described as to the
use of liquor, and had not been educated out of the views
which they had imbibed in their youth. That is why the
prohibition experiment made in 1856 was so much open
to the charge of being a rash one. Man cannot be edu-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 215
cated into a new state of ideas in a single day and hardly
in a single generation. When the total abstinence move-
ment commenced in New Brunswick, those who advocated
it were looked upon as mere fanatics, and even when it
had obtained a sufficient amount of political strength to
influence the Legislature, the great bulk of the people
regarded it with unfavorable eyes, and were ready to
resist any attempt to apply such principles to themselves.
I remember as a boy the hour and the day when prohi-
bition went into effect in New Brunswick, and I took
note of the time that the change came. It was at mid-
night on the 31st of December, 1855, when the bells rang
out a merry peal to announce the advent of the new year,
that this law went in force. The placing of it in opera-
tion meant little less than a revolution in the views,
feelings and ideas of the people of the Province, and to a
large extent in their business relations. The liquor trade,
both wholesale and retail, employed large numbers of
men, and occupied many buildings, which brought in
large rents to their owners. The number of taverns in
St. John and Portland was not less than two hundred,
and every one of these establishments had to be closed.
There were probably at least twenty men who sold liquor
at wholesale, and who extended their business to every
section of the Province, as well as all parts of Nova
Scotia, and their operations also had to come to an end.
It was not to be supposed that these people would con-
sent to be deprived suddenly of their means of living,
especially in view of the fact that it was by no means
216 LIFE AND TIMES OF
certain that the sentiment in favor of prohibition was as
strong in the country as it appeared to be in the Legis-
lature. It has always been understood that many men
voted for prohibition in the House of Assembly who
themselves were not total abstainers, but who thought
they might make political capital by taking that course,
and who relied on the Legislative Council to throw out
the bill. No men were more disgusted and disappointed
than they when the Council passed the bill.
The result of the attempt to enforce prohibition was
what might have been expected. The law was resisted,
liquor continued to be sold, and when attempts were made
to prevent the violation of the law, and the violators of
the law were brought before the courts, able lawyers
were employed to defend them, while the sale of liquor
by the same parties was continued, thus setting the law
at defiance. This state of confusion and conflict lasted
for several months, but it is unnecessary to go into
details. In the city of St. John especially the conflict
became bitter to the last degree, and it was evident that
however admirable prohibition might be of itself the
people of the city were not then prepared to accept it.
At this juncture came the astounding news that the
Lieutenant Governor, the Hon. H. T. Manners-Sutton,
had dissolved the House of Assembly without the advice
of his Council. This Governor, who had been appointed
the year previous, was a member of an old Conservative
family, one of whom was Speaker of the British House
of Commons for a great many years. The traditions of
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 217
this family were all opposed to such a radical measure
as the prohibitory law, and therefore it was not to be
expected that Manners-Sutton, who used liquor at his
own table, and who considered that its use was proper and
necessary, would be favorable to the law. But even if
he had been disposed to favor it originally, or to regard it
without prejudice, the confusion which it caused in the
Province, when the attempt was made to enforce it, would
naturally incline him to look upon it as an evil. At all
events he came to the conclusion that the people should
have another opportunity of pronouncing upon it, and as
the result of this view of the situation, resolved to dissolve
the Legislature which had only been elected little more
than a year, and had still three years to run.
The election, which followed in July, 1856, was per-
haps the most hotly contested that has ever taken place
in the Province. In St. John especially the conflict was
fierce and bitter, because it was in this city that the
liquor interest was strongest and most influential. All
over the Province, however, the people became interested
in the struggle as they had not been in any previous
campaign. To the Liberals and the friends of the gov-
ernment the action of Governor Sutton was denounced
as tyrannical, unjust, and entirely contrary to the prin-
ciples of Kesponsible Government. On the other hand
the friends of the Governor and of the liquor interest
declared that his action was right, and the cry of " Sup-
port the Governor," was raised in every county. The
Liberals at this time found a new name for their oppon-
21 LIFE AND TIMES OF
ents, whom they described as " Rummies," while the
Tories retorted by designating the Liberals as "Smashers,"
and these names continued to be used long after the
prohibition question was settled. At this day it is easy
enough to discern that there was a good deal of unneces-
sary violence injected into the campaign, and that neither
party was inclined to do full justice to the other.
The result of the election was the defeat of the govern- '
ment. Mr. Tilley lost his seat for St. John City, and
Hon. James Brown, the Surveyor General, was rejected
"by the County of Charlotte ; so that two of the principal
members of the Executive were not in their places when
the House was called together in July. The City of St. -
John, and the City and County of St. John sent a solid
phalanx of six members opposed to prohibition, and the
resignation of the government and the passage of an act
repealing the prohibitory liquor law speedily followed.
The new government which was formed had for its
principal members Hon. John H. Gray, who became
Attorney General; Hon. John C. Allen, Solicitor Gen-
eral ; Hon. R. 1). Wilmot, Provincial Secretary ; Hon.
John Montgomery, Surveyor General ; Hon. Francis
McPhelim, Postmaster General. The other members of
the Executive Council were Hon. Edward B. Chandler,
Hon. Robert L. Hazen and the Hon. Charles McPherson.
When the House met in July, Hon. Charles Simonds
of St. John, was elected Speaker, and it was soon discov-
ered, after the liquor bill had been disposed of, that the
majority supporting the government was so small as to
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 219
make it impossible for them to accomplish any useful
legislation. When the Legislature again met, in the early
part of 1857, it was seen that in a House of forty-one
members, twenty were arrayed against the government,
and that the only way in which government business
could be done was by the casting vote of the Speaker.
This condition of affairs speedily became intolerable,
because it practically made legislation impossible, but it
was brought to an end by Mr. McMonagle, one of the
members for the County of Kings, withdrawing his
support from the government. No other course was left
for them but to tender their resignations, or advise the
dissolution of the Legislature, and this was accordingly
> done. The House of Assembly was dissolved by procla-
mation on the 1st of April, 1857, and the writs for the
election were made returnable on the 16th of May.
The excitement attending this second election was, if
possible, even greater than during the election of 1856,
for the public mind had been wrought up to a high state
of tension by the proceedings in the House and the
numerous divisions, in which it was only supported by
the casting vote of the Speaker. The result of the
election was so unfavorable to the Gray- Wilmot govern-
ment that they at once tendered their resignations to the
Lieutenant Governor, agreeing to hold office only until
their successors were appointed. The most bitter contest
of the election centered in the city of St. John, and it
resulted in the election of Mr. Tilley, with Mr. James A.
Harding for his colleague, the latter having changed his
220 LIFE AND TIMES OF
views in regard to the question at issue since the previous
election, when he was chosen as an opponent of the
government of which Mr. Tilley had been a member.
When the Gray-Wilmot government resigned the
Lieutenant Governor sent for Mr. Fisher, and entrusted
to him the business of forming a new government. The
government thus formed comprised the Hons James
Brown, S. L. Tilley, William Henry Steeves, John M.
Johnston, Albert J. Smith, David Wark and Charles
Watters. The Hon. Charles Fisher became Attorney
General, and resigning his seat, was re-elected for the
County of York, prior to the meeting of the Legislature,
on the 24th of June, 1857. This session only lasted
until the 1st of July, being merely held for the purpose
of disposing of the necessary business. James A. Hard-
ing was elected Speaker of the House, and the legislation
was confined to the passage of the supply bills, and a few
other measures regarding subjects which required imme-
diate attention. Mr. Tilley took no part in the legislation
of this session, for his seat immediately became vacant by
his appointment as Provincial Secretary. The other
departments were filled by the appointment of Mr. Brown
to the office of Surveyor General ; Mr. Charles Watters
to the office of Solicitor General, and of John M. Johnston
as Postmaster General.
The Legislature met again on the 10th of February,
1858, and the speech from the throne dealt mainly with
the financial crisis which had affected the mercantile
interest of the Province, the Intercolonial Railway, and
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. L>21
the progress that was being made in the construction of
the line between St. John and Shediac as a part of what
was termed the European & North American Kailway.
The speech also referred to the fact that the surplus civil
list fund had been, by arrangement with the British
government, made the previous year, placed at the disposal
of the House of Assembly. It was soon seen that the
government was strong in the House, the first test vote
being that taken on the passage of the address in reply to
the speech from the throne. This came in the form of an
amendment, which was moved by Mr. Mclntosh of York,
regretting that the arrangement in regard to the surplus
civil list fund had been acceded to without the consent of
the House. This amendment to the address only received
the support of six members. A return brought down at
an early period in the session showed that the revenue of
the Province for the fiscal year ending October 31st, 1857,
amounted to $668,252, an increase of $86,528 over the
previous year. Of this sum upwards of $540,000 came
from import duties and what were termed railway impost,
which was simply the duties levied on impost for the
purpose of defraying the cost of the railways then build-
ing. The casual and territorial revenue only yielded
$18,000, but the export duties reached almost $80,000.
The Intercolonial still continued to engage the attention
of the Legislature, and correspondence with the Secretary
of State, with the government of Canada, and with the
government of Nova Scotia in regard to this great work
was laid before the House soon after the session opened.
222 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The government of New Brunswick consulted with the
governments of Canada and Nova Scotia as to what
assistance should be given by the Imperial Government
towards the construction of the Intercolonial from Halifax
to Quebec, in the form of a guarantee of interest. The
British Government, through the Colonial Secretary, Mr.
Labouchere, replied, on January 15th, 1856, that while
the British Government felt a strong sense of the impor-
tance of the object, they would not feel themselves justi-
fied in applying to parliament for the required guarantee,
because they felt that the heavy expenditure to which
Great Britain had been subjected did not leave them at
liberty to pledge its' revenue for the purpose of assisting
in the construction of public works of this description,
however desirable in themselves. In other words, the
British Government had so exhausted its resources in
fighting useless battles in the Crimea arid elsewhere, for
the sake of the degraded and effete Mahoraedan power,
that it was unable to give any assistance to a necessary
work of a peaceable character for the consolidation of the
Empire. The Intercolonial Eailway has now been con-
structed without the British treasury being drawn upon
to the extent of one penny, and the British Government
is now glad to use it and its kindred work, the Canadian
Pacific, for the purpose of forwarding its soldiers from
the Atlantic to the Pacific. These two great works
remain as monuments of the spirit and courage of the
people of the British Provinces of North America, but
they redound nothing to the credit of any British Govern-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 225
ment or any Imperial .statesmen, it apparently being
impossible for any one brought up under the shadow of
Downing street to discern any good thing in the Colonies.
The correspondence on the subject of the Intercolonial
extended over a period of more than twenty years and
grew to enormous proportions, but it is entirely safe to
assert that this line of railway would not have been
constructed in our own time but for the fact that it was
undertaken by the Canadian Dominion as a work which
had to be built for the purpose of carrying out the terms
of confederation as set out in the British North America
Act.
Correspondence was also brought down during this
session on the subject of emigration to New Brunswick.
Mr. Moses H. Perley, the immigration agent, had visited
the United Kingdom for the purpose of promoting the
movement to induce people to emigrate to this country,
but he did not find the British Government disposed to
lend any assistance in relieving their cities of the unem-
ployed who might have been able to make a good living
in this Province if brought to it. At this time there was
a considerable amount of competition on the part of the
Australian Colonies for immigrants, and New Brunswick
was not looked upon favorably as a field of immigration.
It does not appear that the result of Mr. Perley's mission
to England was very fruitful, the principal difficulty being
that he had no authority to expend much money for the
purpose of promoting the object in view. There has
always been a certain small movement towards this
224 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Province on the part of the people of the British Islands
desiring to change their residence, but the condition of
the Province is such, both as to its labor markets and its
resources, that it would be unwise to bring people here
in large numbers, unless arrangements had previously
been made for settling them comfortably. British immi-
grants now prefer to go to those lands where there is no
forest to be felled, or where the cities are large and the
chance of employment in various lines of industry are
greater.
The financial statement brought down by Mr. Tilley
showed that the public debt of the Province at the end of
the fiscal year, 1857, amounted to $2,050,000, of which
$1,376,000 was funded and bearing interest at the rate of
six per cent. This debt had been largely incurred in
railway construction or in stock taken in railways. The
ordinary revenue was estimated at nearly $650,000, and
the ordinary expenditure at about $2,000 less. These
figures do not greatly differ from those of the present
time, notwithstanding the fact that confederation has
relieved us of many items of expenditure which the
Province formerly had to bear. Everything, however,
was on a small scale in those days. A committee was
appointed at this session of the Legislature to inquire into
the manner in which the work of railway construction to
Shediac was being carried on. The committee reported
later in the session. Their report seemed hostile to the
government and censured the manner in which the con-
tracts had been given out and work done in many places
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 225
without tenders. The people of this Province were then
quite ignorant of railway building, and there is no doubt
that the line to Shediac cost far more money than it ought
to have done. The committee reported that according to
the Engineer's statement the line would cost, when com-
pleted, 930,702, or 8,460 a mile ; but the cost was
considerably more, and exceeded four million dollars, and
may be roughly put down at forty thousand dollars a
mile, or twice the sum for which a similar railway could be
constructed now. This report was received by the House,
but was not adopted, although the vote upon it was a
close one.
The railway to Shediac was finally completed and
opened for traffic on August 5th, 1860, its length being
108 miles. The nineteen miles between Point du Chene
and Moncton had been open as early as August, 1857,
and the nine miles from St. John to Kothesay on June
1st, 1858. The railway was opened from St. John to
Hampton in June, 1859, and to Sussex in November of
the same year. Although the people of the Province had
abated someching of their enthusiasm for railways by the
time the St. John and Shediac line was finished, still its
opening was a great event, because it was the commence-
ment of a new era in transportation in this Province, and
gave St. John access to the North Shore, from which it
had been practically shut out previously. Goods could
now be sent by means of railway and steamer to Prince
Edward Island, and to the New Brunswick ports on the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, and a community of interest was
226 LIFE AND TIMES OF
thus created between the most remote sections of the
Province which did not exist before. The traffic receipts
of the complete line were thought to be highly satisfac-
tory ; the business for the first three months amounted to
about $45,000, and yielded a revenue of $18,000. This
was a good showing and gave promise of still better
things for the future. It may be interesting to state
that in the last year that the railway was operated by the
government of this Province the gross receipts amounted
to $148,330, and the net receipts to $51,760. The gross
and net revenue of the road had shown a steady increase
from the first, and although it had been a costly public
work, the people of the Province considered it a good
investment. It was only after it had passed into the
hands of the government of Canada, and become a part of
the Intercolonial Railway, that any color was given to
the accusation that it was an unprofitable line. The
railway from St. John to Shediac has always paid well,
and probably, if disassociated from its connecting lines,
would at this day pay three or four per cent, upon its
original cost.
The legislation of the Province between 1858 and
1861, although it included many useful measures, evolved
nothing that calls for particular mention, with the excep-
tion of the law which provided for voting by ballot. This
was an innovation to which many were opposed, but
which the Liberal party very properly considered neces-
sary to the protection of the .voter, who was liable to be
coerced by his employer, or by those who had financial
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 227
relations with him. The ballot system introduced by the
government was quite imperfect and did not insure
absolute secrecy, because it did not provide for an official
ballot such as is required in the system of election which
now prevails in connexion with the choice of members to
our Canadian parliament. Yet it was a vast improvement
on open voting, not only because it gave the voter a
certain degree of protection, but also from the fact that it
tended to promote order at elections, and to do away with
that riotous spirit which was characteristic of the earlier
elections in the Province.
In 1859 an important step was taken for the re-organ-
ization of Kings College, which by an act passed in that
year was changed into the University of New Brunswick.
There had always been a great deal of dissatisfaction with
the college in consequence of its denominational character,
and in 1854 an act was passed empowering the Lieutenant
Governor to appoint a commission to inquire into the
state of Kings College, its management and utility, with
a view to improving it. The commissioners appointed
were the Hon. John H. Gray, Kev. Egerton Ryerson, J.
W. Dawson, Hon. John S. Saunders and Hon. James
Brown. The report, which was dated Dec. 28th, 1854,
was laid before both branches of the Legislature in 1855.
In 1857 the college council appointed a committee and
prepared a draft of a bill, which was laid before the
Legislature. This with a few slight alterations was the
bill which was passed in 1859, for the establishment of
the University of New Brunswick, and in this bill were
228 LIFE AND TIMES OF
embodied the principal recommendations of the commis-
sioners appointed in 1854 to inquire into the state of the
college. This act transferred to the University of New
Brunswick all the property of Kings College and its
endowment, and made the university liable for the pay-
ment of the debts and the performance of the contracts
of Kings College. It created a new governing body for
the college to be styled the Senate, to be appointed by the
governor in council, and the President of the council was
required to be a member of that body and also to be a
layman. It conferred upon the Senate the power of
appointing the professors and other officers of the univer-
sity, except the President, and also the power of removing
them from office, subject to the approval of the governor
in council. It also authorized the Senate to fix their
salaries. It abolished the professorship of theology and
provided for the affiliation of other institutions with
the university, and also for a number of free scholars.
This act, which was passed in April, 1859, was specially
approved by Her Majesty in council on January 25th,
1860. Thus a new era in the higher education of New
Brunswick was commenced, and a long step was taken
in advance towards making the college more acceptable
to the people of this Province. Great hopes were enter-
tained at the time that this change in the constitution of
the college would lead to a large increase in the number of
its students, and a more general interest in its work, but
unfortunately, as the sequel showed, these hopes were
only partially realized.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 229
During the spring- of 1860 circumstances occurred
which led to the resignation of the Post Master General,
Hon. Charles Connell. The Legislature having adopted
the decimal system of currency in the place of the pounds,
shillings and pence which had been the currency of the
Province since its foundation, in March, 1860, Mr. Con-
nell was authorized to obtain a new set of postage stamps
of the denominations required for use in the postal service
of the Province. No person at that time thought that a
political crisis would arise out of this order, but it appears
that Mr. Connell, guided by the example of Presidents
and Post Masters General of the United States, had made
up his mind that instead of the likeness of the Queen,
which had been upon all the old postage stamps of the
Province, the five cent stamp, the one which would be
most in use, should bear the impress of his own counten-
ance. Accordingly the Connell postage stamp, which is
now one of the rarest and most costly of all in the lists of
collectors, was procured and was ready to be used, when
Mr. Connell's colleagues in the government discovered
what was going on and took steps to prevent the new five
cent stamp from being issued. The correspondence on the
subject, which will be found in the journals of 1861, is
curious and interesting, but it ended in the withdrawal of
the objectionable stamps and in the resignation of Mr.
Connell, who complained that he had lost the confidence
of his colleagues, and who in resigning, charged them
with neglecting the affairs of the Province. Only a few
of the Connell stamps got into circulation, the remainder
280 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of the issue being destroyed. If anyone could have
foreseen the enormous value which they would attain at
a future day a fortune might have been made by the
lucky individual who succeeded in getting possession of
them. Mr. Council's place as Post Master General was
filled by the appointment of James Steadman to that
office.
In the early part of 1861 a very important event
occurred in connection with the government which pro-
duced a lasting effect on Provincial politics. Charges
were made by a St. John Conservative paper, " The
Colonial Empire," in which it was stated that members of
the Government and Crown Land officials had been pur-
chasing the most desirable and valuable Crown Lands of
the Province for speculative purposes, and that in bring-
ing these lands to sale the government regulations had
been violated and the public treasury had thereby suf-
fered. A committee of the House was appointed to
investigate these charges and inquiry established the fact
that an official of the Crown Land Department had
purchased a large quantity of Crown Land, and that the
then Attorney General and leader of the Government
had purchased some 800 acres. These lands were all
bought at public sale, but in the forms of application,
other names were used, which was a violation of the rules
of the Department. A portion of the press at the time
created a widespread excitement upon this subject, and
the services of the official referred to were dispensed with-
Some of the supporters of the Government also took such
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 231
ground in reference to the Attorney General, Mr. Fisher,
that his retirement from the Government became neces-
sary. It was felt at the time that the penalty that was
paid by the Attorney General was excessive for the
offence, but, under the excitement of the public mind
then existing, it was the only course that could be taken
to avoid the defeat of the Government. At the general
election that followed a few months later, Mr. Fisher was
re-elected for the County of York, and later on, after the
excitement had passed over, the Crown Land official was
reinstated. At the general election, that took place in
1861, the Government was handsomely sustained, after
one of the warmest contests that had ever taken place in
New Brunswick. Probably the most effective nomination
speech ever made by Mr. Tilley, during his long political
career, was the one then delivered at the Court House, St.
John, in his own defense, and in the vindication of his
government against the charges made by the opposition
candidates and press.
232 LIFE A^D TIMES OF
CHAPTER VIII.
The successful running of the railway from St. John
to Shediac, and the opening of a portion of the St. An-
drews railway from that port northward towards Wood-
stock, stimulated a desire for additional railway connec-
tion, particularly with Quebec and the United States. It
may be safely said that from the formation of the Liberal
Government in 1854 to the time of Confederation the
principal policy of the government was always a railway
policy, and numberless communications were exchanged
with the British government, and the other Colonies
which now form the Dominion of Canada, for the purpose
of agreeing upon some common policy with the object of
completing what is now known as the Intercolonial Rail-
way. All previous applications to the Imperal Govern-
ment for pecuniary aid to secure the construction of this
railway having failed, the governments of Canada, Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick concluded, in 1861, to make
one more effort before abandoning an undertaking of such
national and provincial interest, and to that end decided
upon a meeting of representatives from the three govern-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. a: 1 ,:?
ments at Quebec. At a meeting held in the Executive
1 Council Chamber at Quebec, on the 3Uth September,
1861, there were present:
FROM NEW BRUNSWICK. FROM NOVA SCOTIA.
Hon. Mr. Tilley, Hon. Joseph Howe,
Hon. Mr. Smith, Hon. Mr. Archibald,
Hon. Mr. Mitchell, Hon. Mr. McCully.
Hon. Mr. Watters.
FROM CANADA.
Hon. Mr. Cartier,
Hon. Mr. Macdonald,
Hon. Mr. Ross,
Hon. Mr. Vankoughnet,
Hon. Mr. Alleyn,
Hon. Mr. N. Belleau,
Hon. Mr. Gait,
Hon. Mr. Cauchon.
It was then unanimously
Resolved, " That the three governments of Canada,
^New Brunswick and Nova Scotia do renew the offers
made to the Imperial Government on the 26th day of
October, 1858, to aid in the construction of an Inter-
colonial Railway, to connect Halifax with Quebec ; and
that a delegation from each Province shall immediately
proceed to England, with the object of pressing the project
upon the attention of the Home Government; giving
the assurance that the governments of the respective
Provinces will endeavor to procure the necessary legisla-
tion at the next ensuing sessions of their respective
Parliaments ; and it was further.
234 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Resolved, " That the route to be adopted be decided by
the Imperial Government."
The following gentlemen were appointed delegates to
confer with the Imperial Government upon the subject
above referred to : Hon. P. M. Vankoughnet, by the
Canadian Government , Hon. Joseph Howe, by the
Government of Nova Scotia, and Hon. S. L. Tilley, by !
the Government of New Brunswick.
While the delegates were in England engaged in sub-
mitting their proposition to the Colonial Secretary, news
of the Trent affair reached that country. This was the
seizure of Messrs. Mason and Slidell, two representatives
of the southern confederacy on board the British mail
steamer " Trent," in the Bahama Channel, in December,
1861, by Capt. Wilkes, who was in command of the United
States war-ship " San Jacinto." This flagrant viola-
tion of international law was disapproved by the govern-
ment of the United States, and Messrs. Mason and Slidell
were given up to the British government ; but for a time
it met with popular applause, and it seemed likely to
lead to a war between Great Britain and the United
States. Troops were sent out hastily to Canada for the
purpose of defending that Province in the event of a war
occurring, and as many of these troops had to be taken
over land through the wilderness between St. John and
Quebec, it brought to the attention of the British govern-
ment in a very emphatic manner the imperfection of the
existing means of communication between the several
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 235
Provinces. Such an object lesson coming at such a time
was calculated to assist the delegates in placing their case
before the British government. They were able to show
that the frontier of Canada was unprotected, and that a
large hostile force might be thrown against it during the
winter long before any assistance could reach that Prov-
ince from England.
The following extract from a letter from Hon. Mr.
Joseph Howe to the Lieutenant Governor of Nova
Scotia, the Earl of Mulgrave, describes in detail the
proceedings of the delegates in England :
HALIFAX, 5th April, 1862.
MY LORD,
In obedience to Your Excellency's commands I pro-
ceeded to England in the steamship " Arabia," leaving Halifax
on the 1st November, landing on the llth, and returning in the
" Europa " on the 25th January. The Hon. S. L. Tilley, Provincial
Secretary of New Brunswick, went over with me, but the Hon. P.
M. Vankoughnet, the delegate from Canada, was wrecked on his
passage down the St. Lawrence, and did not reach England until
late in November.
A few days after our arrival Mr. Tilley and I waited upon the
Duke of Newcastle, presented our credentials, and discussed with
His Grace the objects of our mission. We were gratified to find
that His Grace viewed most favorably the enterprise which we
had been sent to England to advocate. His opinions were frankly
avowed, but, while he promised us his aid, he did not conceal
from us his opinion that there were difficulties in the way that
would probably require all our skill and industry to overcome.
His Grace advised us to see Lord Palmerston and such other
members of the Cabinet as might be in town from time to time,
and left us free to take any steps that we might consider
judicious in order to rouse and combine public opinion in aid of
the project ; that the decision of the Cabinet, if it were favorable,
might be fortified and sustained by memorials from the large
towns and principal centres of commerce in the three kingdoms.
236 LIFE AND TIMES OF
On the arrival of Mr. Vankoughnet we saw in succession the
Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary
of War, and the President of the Board of Trade, and explained
to them the nature of the enterprize and the views of the
respective governments. Though the subject had been almost
exhausted by previous delegations it appeared prudent to con-
struct an argument based upon the latest information, and it
was in point of form indispensible that we should place in the
hands of the Colonial Secretary some written paper upon which
he could invite the deliberation of the Cabinet. We had nearly
completed this task when the news arrived in England of
the arrest of the southern commissioners. The determination of
Her Majesty's government to demand reparation was almost
instantly known. The moment that a war in winter with the
United States became imminent we could not but feel that our
mission was suddenly invested with a dignity and importance
that could only be measured by the difficulties and the cost of
protecting our Canadian frontier in case reparation should be
refused. It was clear that circumstances favored our exertions
in proportion as they confirmed the anticipations and the argu-
ments of those who had preceded us. We lost no time in
addressing the following letter to His Grace, the Colonial
Secretary :
"LONDON, December 2nd, 1861.
" MAY IT PLEASE YOUR GRACE,
" The undersigned, having presented credentials and
discussed informally with Your Grace, and with some other
members of the Cabinet, the objects of our mission, were about
to forward to Your Grace a communication on the subject of the
Intercolonial Railway (the draft of which they enclose), when
the startling events of the last week rendered that task
supererogatory.
" These events so completely vindicate the forethought and
patriotism of the Colonial Legislatures of the gentlemen who
from time to time have represented their views in this country,
and of the British statesmen who have given them countenance
and aid, that the undersigned deem it unnecessary to do more
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 287
than to present to Your Grace a list of the papers in which their
arguments are embodied, and a copy of the minute of council by
which they have been empowered to make, as they now do
in terms of that minute, a renewed offer to Her Majesty's
government.
"The war which in the Provinces we have long seen as likely
to arise out of the complications between the mother country and
the United States of America is now imminent. The frontier
which would have been defended by means of rapid communi-
cation is unprotected and exposed to the concentration of troops
upon the termini of at least seven railroads. Winter is upon us
and a hundred thousand men are to be thrown by the enemy
upon the frontier with more ease than a single battery can be
transported to Canada or a single barrel of flour can be brought
down to the seaboard Provinces which, cut off by war from the
United States, and by ice from Canada, must depend upon
Europe for breadstuffs with the granaries of half a continent in
their rear.
" If those events and strategic contrasts now patent to all the
world do not plead the cause of British America and finally settle
this question the undersigned feel that anything that they could
add would be a needless instrument upon the patience of the
Cabinet. The undersigned do not believe that in the presence
of the perils winch all Her Majesty's subjects are called upon to
confront, an hour should be lost in deciding upon a question
which lies at the very basis of national defence. If the Provinces
are to be plunged into a war without the cheap defence which
they have urged was indispensable to their protection, let them
have at least the satisfaction of reflecting that it is for the last
time; and if our commerce is to be imperilled and our cities
exposed to pillage and conflagration, let us not have to defend
both with the depressing conviction on our minds that Her
Majesty's Ministers are indifferent to our position and care less
for the security of our frontier than they do for that of their
island homes.
" Whatever the answer is to be the undersigned would respect-
fully urge that it should not be delayed. War will rind all the
Provinces in many ways unprepared, and the undersigned, upon
whom will rest heavy responsibilities, will require every hour of
238 LIFE AND TIMES OF
time to meet the exigencies of the period as they ought. They
will not permit themselves to helieve that any hut one answer
will be given, hut whatever the answer is it should, if possible,
be prompt and decisive, that their minds may be freed from
other thoughts than those which the stern duties of the hour
imperatively demand.
" We have the honor to be
Your Grace's most obedient servants,
P. M. VANKOUGHNET,
For Canada.
JOSEPH HOWE,
For Nova Scoti-H.
S. L. TILLKY,
For New Brunswick.
To His Grace
THIS DVKE OF NEWCASTLE, &c."
MEMORANDUM.
The undersigned have been deputed by the governments of
Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to submit a renewed
proposition for the completion of the Intercolonial Railroad,
connecting the harbor of Halifax which is open all the year
round with the railway on the St. Lawrence. Having delivered
our credentials and discussed the subject of our mission with
His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, and with some other members
of the Cabinet, we now proceed to submit in a more formal shape
a recapitulation of the grounds upon which we think that the
proposition we have been sent to make ought to be favorably and
speedily entertained. These naturally divide themselves under
three heads :
First. To what extent previous communications with the
Imperial Government have justly led the Provinces to rely upon
Imperial assistance in the construction of that which has been
admitted to be an Imperial work.
Second. The reasons of public policy which render its con-
struction at the present time a measure of wise precaution indis-
pensable to our national defence, and
Third. The financial aspect of the question.
SIR LEOKAKD TILLEY 239
We beg, in the first place, to refer to the Memorandum dated
August, 1857, and signed by Messrs. Macdonald and Rose,
together with the letter of Messrs. Johnston and Archibald, of
August 20th, 1857 ; and also to the Memorandum dated October
26th, 1858, and signed by M essrs. Cartier, Ross, Gait, Fisher,
Smith, Tupper, Henry and Dickie, which contain the history of
the question so far as respects the general argument. These
papers are enclosed.
To the Memorandum and letter of August, 1857, a reply is
contained in the despatch of the Right Honorable H. Labouchere,
addressed to the Governor General of Canada, and dated May
loth, 1858. That despatch states :
" Although participating with the members of the several
Local Governments, and with their own predecessors in office,
in a strong sense of the importance of this object, Her Majesty's
advisers cannot feel themselves justified in applying to parlia-
ment for the required guarantee. Their reasons for declining to
take this step are solely of a financial description. They feel
that the heavy expenditure to which this country has been
subjected of late years, and the calls upon the resources of the
Empire for pressing emergencies, do not leave them at liberty,
for the present at least, to pledge its revenue to so considerable
an extent, for the purpose of assisting in the construction of
public works of this character, however in themselves desirable."
In answer to the Memorandum of October 26th, 1858, a despatch
from the Right Honorable Sir E. B. Lytton to the Governor
General of Canada, and the Lieutenants of New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia, and dated December 24th, 1858, states that :
" Independently of any military advantages which might
attend the existence of an uninterrupted communication by rail
over British territory, in the event of any disturbance of the
existing friendly relations of Great Britain with all other coun-
tries, some benefits of an Imperial kind would at once accrue
Irom the completion of the Intercolonial Railway. The letters
from England would pass over a shorter and cheaper route, and
the movement of the troops would gain in point of convenience
and economy."
The despatch, however, postpones Imperial assistance for
reasons analogous to those given in the despatch of Sir. H. La-
240 LIFE AND TIMES OF
bouchere. This despatch closes the official correspondence on
the subject.
We submit, therefore, appealing to past communications, that
the Provinces have full justification for relying upon Imperial
co-operation, to be rendered at least when the position of Great
Britain warranted her in undertaking the responsibility of the
completion of the Intercolonial Railway.
The undersigned feel that here they might rest their case, as
they do not believe that Her Majesty's advisers will forget the
hopes held out by previous governments, or press a literal con-
struction of any bargain or understanding with the Colonies,
where, especially as in this case, it can be shown that in a
measure of common interest and mutual defence the Colonies
have already done more than their share ; but they are desirous
to meet every argument by which the proposition for Imperial
aid may be opposed.
Those who in this country fear the cost of Colonial garrisons
in the west, should remember that the British Provinces lost
more during the last war than those garrisons have ever cost,
and that in a single year of war with the United States, they
would again lose more than the value of all the military expen-
diture for half a century to come.
We are content, however, with our present position and with
the affectionate and honorable relations with the mother coun-
try, which it is clearly our mutual interest to maintain, and
which were never more firmly based in thorough loyalty than at
this moment. But the question always arises : How can the
connection be best cemented and the frontier be put in the best
attitude of defence ?
The Colonial Secretary, who has recently visited America, does
not require to be informed that since the war of 1812 the United
States have covered their country with a network of railways,
and that seven of these lines run directly in upon the Canadian
frontier; while others traverse or reach the shores of the great
lakes, commanding the chief entreports of Canadian commerce,
and others again extend to the seaboard cities directly fronting
the Province of Nova Scotia, or through the State of Maine to
within eighty miles of the borders of New Brunswick. If these
railroads did not exist the Colonial militia, with slight aid from
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 241
the Imperial government, could defend our frontiers in case of
war, as they did in 181 2. But by the aid of these railroads it is
obvious that the United States could at any time within a week
concentrate upon their termini a hundred thousand men or
more, a force that we might in the end successfully oppose, but
one so formidable as to enable them to capture, if they were so
disposed, or to destroy our chief cities before, by any means at
our disposal, we could concentrate our domestic forces, or receive
effective aid from England. While the United States maintained
an army of only 10,000 men, the danger of a surprise did not
appear to be very imminent. A few British regiments would
have been sufficient to cope with such a force, and our volun-
teers with such instructors could have been disciplined as fast
as theirs.
But all this has been changed within a year. The Northern
States have now at least a quarter of a million of embodied
troops upon the Potomac, considerable numbers under arms in
various States, and 50,000 three months men, who have returned
to their homes with some degree of discipline and some know-
ledge of camp life. The whole of the Northern States is one vast
recruiting ground. Should the present civil war continue it is
contended by some that there will be full employment for these
forces at the south, but vulnerable as Canada now is she invites
attack from that surplus force which now exists. But when this
contest ends, and end it*nust even should no conflict with us
mark the interval either by exhaustion by conquest or by the
interference of foreign powers, there will remain in the Northern
States two or three hundred thousand trained soldiers, with a
fair proportion of ambitious military chieftains, emulous of
distinction, or it may be, not indisposed to wipe out in foreign
fields the remembrance of discomfitures experienced in civil
strife. Besides disciplined masses of soldiers the United States
will have accumulated vast stores of warlike material. Enor-
mous quantities of small arms and of cannon have been pur-
chased or manufactured, and the establishments founded by a
lavish expenditure can readily supply as many more. The
United States thus have been suddenly transformed from peaceful
communities, pursuing lawful commerce, to a military republic.
The British Provinces survey these phenomena without fear
but not without emotion, and they ask, as the first measure of
P
242 LIFE AND TIMES OF
indispensable precaution and obvious defence, that the Inter-
colonial Railroad shall be completed without delay. Without
that road the Provinces are dislocated and almost incapable of
defence for a great portion of the year, except at such a sacrifice
of life and property, and at such an enormous cost to the mother
country, as makes the small contribution which she is asked to
give towards its construction sink into insignificance. With
that railroad we can concentrate our forces on the menaced points
of our frontier, guard the citadels and works which have been
erected by Great Britain at vast expense, cover our cities from
surprise, and hold our own till reinforcements can be sent across
the sea; while without the railway, if any attack were made in
winter the mother country could put no army worthy of the
national honor and adequate to the exigency upon the Canadian
frontier without a positive waste of treasure far greater than the
principal of the sum, the interest of which she is asked to con-
tribute or rather to risk.
The British government have built expensive citadels at Hali-
fax, Quebec and Kingston, and have stores of munitions and
warlike material in them. But their feeble garrisons will be
inadequate for their defence, unless the Provincial forces can be
concentrated in and around them. An enterprising enemy would
carry them by coups de main before they could be reinforced from
England ; and once taken the ports and roadsteads which they
have been erected to defend would not be oversafe for the naval
armaments sent out too late for their relief.
Since this subject was pressed upon the attention of the British
government in 1851, taking the very moderate military expen-
diture of last year as the basis of an estimate, 4,417,590 have
been expended in the British Provinces for the maintenance of a
few thousand troops in time of profound peace. Of what avail
is this expenditure ? With what object has it been incurred or
are similar disbursements to be continued, if the only work
which during five months of the year will furnish the means of
securing the Provinces is to be neglected ? Why spend so much
money if it is to be of no use hereafter, and if proper precautions
are not taken to protect the property which has been made thus
valuable.
Therefore we desire to strengthen our frontier by the comple-
tion of a work indispensable to its defence. It is not too much
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 243
to say that the construction of the Intercolonial Railroad might
save us the cost of a war, for the Americans are themselves
sagacious enough to see that with that work completed surprise
is impossible, and the results of a protracted war at least ex-
tremely doubtful. Without it Canada and the M aritime Prov-
inces may be cut asunder and outflanked at any moment, without
the possibility of their population leaning upon common points
of support, and aiding and strengthening each other. We are
reluctant to believe, then, that Her Majesty's government will
forget the opinion expressed by Lord Durham in his report, or
will even, if disposed to, construe strictly the terms of the offer
made in 1851 by Lord Grey, overlook the momentous interests
now at stake, or the altered circumstances which at the present
moment invest this subject with so much of national interest and
importance.
Though the undersigned argue this question upon higher
grounds than those of mere finance, they repeat that they are
not indifferent to the financial aspect of it. The Colonies unaided
have themselves, since 1851, already made nearly one-half of the
railway route, and the construction of about 350 miles more by the
joint action of the Imperial and Colonial governments, will com-
plete the Intercolonial Railway. Our governments and people,
having done so much already, now propose to contribute more
than one-half of the liability of what remains, and thus to be
responsible for 60,000 a year, and also for the right of way. The
mother country is now asked to give fiO,000 a year, so long only
as the revenue of the railway is inadequate to meet the interest.
What is she to get or to save ? is not, however, an unreasonable
question. We will endeavor to supply an answer.
The British government now pay to two lines of steamers, one
of which carries the mails and passengers past the British Prov-
inces, 189,500. Make the Intercolonial Railroad and there
cannot be the slightest pretence under any circumstances for
continuing these subsidies beyond the port of Halifax, and
the subsidy ought not to exceed 112,000, the amount of postage
now actually received.
If the contract for the Galway Line is renewed the subsidy
should only cover the sea service from the nearest point in
Ireland to the nearest port on the continent of America. It is a
mistake to suppose that subsidies are required to maintain
244 LIFE AND TIMES OF
communication between the Maritime Provinces and the United
States. Steamers run all summer from Halifax and St. John to
Portland and Boston, maintained by private enterprise, and will
soon be adequate for the winter service, if left to a fair field of
open competition. Subsidies to a reliable line of ocean steamers
may, by the British government, notwithstanding the difference
of opinion existing, be considered indispensable, but these, if
limited to the amount of postage (112,000), would save 77,500 a
year, so soon as the Intercolonial Railroad is completed to
Halifax. This saving would more than cover the entire sum
which the Imperial government is now asked to risk to insure
the construction of the work.
But in addition to the cost of ocean steamers the British people
now pay for the transmission of their correspondence with their
own Provinces twelve and a half cents per ounce on letters, and
two cents on'newspapers sent through the United States, amount-
ing on the whole to a large sum per annum, which could be saved
to the country.
The cost of conveying by land a single regiment from Halifax
to Quebec in 1838 is stated to have been 30,000. The cost of
transportation in winter was so great in 1855 that the regiments,
so much wanted in the Crimea, and not required in Canada at all,
had to be left over there till the war was over.
Were the Intercolonial Railway built troops could be forwarded
from Halifax to Quebec in four and twenty hours. If to the
amount which may be fairly deducted from the steamship
subsidies be added the amount paid to the Post Office of the
United States, and the actual cost of moving troops and material
on an average often years, the figures will show an amount of
saving far beyond the aid asked for, and which ought to satisfy
the most rigid economist ; that while what we urge secures Im-
perial interests now in peril, it saves the resources of the English
people.
There is one view of this subject which surely should not be
overlooked. Within the last ten years but 235,285 emigrants
from the British Islands went to the Provinces, while more than
six times the number, or 1,495,243, went to the United States, and
are now citizens of that country, whose commercial policy is seen
in the Morrill tariff, which shuts out the manufactures of this
country. Let us hope that it is not too late to turn the tide of
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 245
emigration elsewhere, that, the life blood of the parent state may
not be drained off to extend the power of a people who alone can
threaten or endanger the British rule in America, and whose
jealous sensitiveness renders a continuance of their friendship
towards Great Britain at all times uncertain.
The proposal made to the British government is to join the
three Provinces in a guarantee of four per cent, upon 3,000,000
Sterling, the assumed cost of the proposed works, less the cost of
the right of way, which the Provinces will provide. The Prov-
inces are ready to pass bills of supply for 60,000 a year if the
Imperial government will do the same, and as no doubt this
Imperial route will gradually work on with increasing returns,
the sum of the risk will gradually diminish, until at last, and
perhaps before many years are over, the liability may cease
altogether. The Canadian Railway Companies are open to treat
for the working of the line so as to avoid any liability beyond
the gross amount of the joint guarantee. The selection of the
route of the line is left solely to the British government.
Should the British government prefer to raise the capital for
building the road their outside responsibility under such arrange-
ments would be three and a quarter per cent, on 3,000,000, or
about 97,500 a year, and the Provinces would still be responsible
for one-half, leaving a net liability to the British government of
only 48,750 a year ; but if they are not disposed thus to increase
their nominal and decrease their real responsibility, the sum
required for the estimated length of 350 miles of railway, namely
3,000,000, can be raised on the terms named, viz., by the mutual
guarantee of 120,OoO a year, or 60,000 a year from the Provinces
and 60,000 a year from the British government, which guarantee
will enable the issue at par of 3,ooo,000 of four per cent, stock.
And now, believing that in this and former papers submitted
to the Imperial authorities, all the arguments in detail in favor
of the Intercolonial policy sought for have been fully set forth,
the undersigned have only to add that it appears to them that
such arguments are conclusive, that the subject should be looked
upon and dealt with mainly in regard to the consideration of
permanent connection between Great Britain and the Provinces,
and the relative positions of England and the United States in
the event of hostilities between them.
246 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Is or is not the completion of the line of railway between Hali-
fax and Quebec essential, or at least of infinite importance, as
enabling England to carry on by land as well as by sea a war
with the only power in America that can assail her, as enabling
her to protect a portion of her own dominions ? Should war with
the "United States of America break out during the present or any
winter, how is England to cope with her adversary by land ?
How can she transport a month hence to the points of strategy
in Canada the necessary troops and material of war ? and to
what mortification and disaster may not her few soldiers, usually
in garrison there, be subjected for want of that aid which the
Intercolonial Railway could bring them ? Again, England has
pledged herself, and without a formal pledge would doubtless
strive, that the whole force of the Empire should be put forth for
the defence of the Provinces in the event of a foreign invasion,
and how can that strength be put forth in Canada without the
means of reaching it in winter ? And while she may by her
navy hold the American seaboard in terror, the American forces
can enter Canada, and three millions of people will be left to cope
with twenty millions in a war in the cause of which they would
have had no concern, and in the conduct of which they could
have no voice.
A dispute in the China seas may involve the United States and
England in war, and Canada, without this means of protection,
will have to bear the brunt and suffering of it, without having
provoked the difference or being directly interested in the
quarrel.
The undersigned most desire it to be understood that the
financial position of the Provinces does not enable them to hold
out any hope that more than is herein proposed can be offered
by the Provinces themselves. The heavy responsibilities for her
railway undertakings now pressing upon her have compelled
Canada, in order to preserve her credit with her debenture
holders, to impose import duties on a scale which has already
raised discussion in England, and laid her under the imputation
of having had resort to a system of commercial protection, when
in fact she was simply straining her resources to preserve her
credit and good faith. To her, therefore, as well as to the other
Provinces, greater sacrifices are impossible.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 247
As the selection of the route to be adopted has been confided
by the Provinces to the British government, and all local dis-
putes in regard to it thus removed, the undersigned would urge
the importance of making use of the coming winter to select and
locate the line of Railway ; and if it were possible to lay upon
the ground some of the heavier material, most valuable time
would also be gained. The line can be completed in two sum-
mers, if the coming winter be used, and in such a case the railway
may be completed by the fall of 1863.
The reply of the British government to the propositions
embodied in the above was contained in a despatch from
the Colonial Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of
New Brunswick, and was as follows :
DOWNING STREET, April 12, 1862.
SIR,
I have already acknowledged the receipt of your des-
patches, the one accompanied by a joint address to Her Majesty
from both Houses of the Legislature of New Brunswick, expres-
sive of their wish that Imperial aid may be afforded to the com-
pletion of the Intercolonial Railway between Halifax and Quebec,
the other reporting that the Hon. Samuel Tilley had been ap-
pointed to represent New Brunswick in the Provincial delegation
which was intended to visit England on this subject. Not long
afterwards Mr. Tilley arrived and associated himself with the
Hon. Philip Vankoughnet, who had been appointed delegate on
behalf of Canada, and the Hon. Joseph Howe, on behalf of Nova
Scotia. I had several interviews with these gentlemen,who urged
with good ability the project committed to their charge, and
eventually embodied their views in a Memorandum communi-
cated to me in a letter dated December 2nd, 1861, but owing to
the urgency of business connected with the threatening aspect of
affairs in the United States, I was unable to bring the subject
under the consideration of Her Majesty's government before the
deputies were obliged to return to their homes, and other urgent
matters have hitherto prevented the adoption of a decision. The
subject has now been before Her Majesty's government, and I
need, scarcely assure you that they have examined it with the
248 LIFE AND TIMES OF
care due to the importance of the question, of the high authori-
ties from whom it has emanated in the Provinces, and to the
character and position of the delegates by whom it has been so
powerfully presented to notice in this country.
The length of railway necessary to complete the communica-
tion between Halifax and Quebec is estimated at 350 miles, and
the cost, after deducting the right of way, which the Provinces
will provide, is estimated at 3,000,000 Sterling, such being the
data supplied by the deputation. The project is that the Impe-
rial government should join the three Provinces in a guarantee
-of four per cent, upon 3,000,000, in which case the Provinces are
to pass bills of supply for 60,000 a year, 20,000 in each Prov-
ince, if the Imperial government will do the same. The selection
of the route is left solely to the British government. Should the
sum of 3,dOO,000 be found insufficient, nothing very definite is
said on the essential point of the provision to be made for the
completion of the railway.
I much regret to inform you that, after giving the subject their
best consideration, Her Majesty's government have not felt them-
selves at liberty to concur in this mode of assistance. Anxious,
however, to promote, as far as they can, the important object of
completing the great line of railway communication on British
ground,between the Atlantic and the westernmost parts of Canada,
and to assist the Provinces in a scheme which would so materially
promote their interests, Her Majesty's government are willing
to offer to the Provincial government an Imperial guarantee of
interest towards enabling them to raise by public loan, if they
should desire it, at a moderate rate, the requisite funds for con-
structing the railway. This was the mode of action contem-
plated by Earl Grey, in the year 1851, and is the same method
which was adopted by Parliament in the Act of 1842, in order to
afford to Canada the benefit of British credit in raising the
money with which she has completed her great system of internal
water communications.
The nature and extent of the guarantee which Her Majesty's
government could undertake to recommend to Parliament must
be determined by the particulars of any scheme which the Pro-
vincial governments may be disposed to found on the present
proposal, and on the kind of security which they would offer. I
fear that this course will not be so acceptable to the Provincial
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 249
governments as that which the delegates were authorized to
propose for consideration. It is, however, the only one in which
Her Majesty's government, after anxious deliberation, feel that
they would be at liberty to participate. I trust that the proposal
will, at all events, be received as a proof of their earnest wish to
find some method in which they can co-operate with the Prov-
inces in their laudable desire to complete a perfect intercolonial
communication over British territory, and it will be a source of
sincere pleasure to me if, adverting to all the different bearings
of the subject, and to the condition of their respective finances,
the Provincial governments should end by finding it in their
power to make use of the present offer and to propound some
practical scheme for applying it to the attainment of the desired
object. I have addressed a similar despatch to the Governor
General of Canada and the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia,
and I must now leave the subject in the hands of the several
Provincial governments, who will best know, in case they prose-
cute the subject further, how to provide for the requisite mutual
consultations.
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
NEWCASTLE.
Delegates, representing the three Provinces, met at
Quebec in September, 1862, to consider the proposal of
the Duke of Newcastle as to the aid the Imperial govern-
ment were prepared to give in the construction of the
Intercolonial Eailway. New Brunswick was represented
by Messrs. Tilley, Steeves and Mitchell. Having dis-
cussed with the gentlemen present the immediate ques-
tions which had brought them together, the delegates
from the Maritime Provinces declared their willingness
to propose to their respective governments to accept the
proposition of the Duke of Newcastle, if the government
of Canada would bear one-half of the expense of the rail-
250 LIFE AND TIMES OF
way instead of one-third. After a day's deliberation
the Canadian Council communicated their ultimatum,
which was an offer to assume five-twelfths of the liability
of the construction and working of the Intercolonial Kail-
way, provided the two other Provinces would assume the
remaining seven-twelfths. After serious and anxious
deliberations the delegates from Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick decided to assume the responsibility. The
following Memoranda were then agreed upon :
MEMORANDUM No. I.
The undersigned, representing the three governments of Can-
ada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, convened to consider the
despatch of His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, of April 12th,
1862, with reference to the Intercolonial Railway, having given
.the very important matters contained in that despatch their
attentive consideration, are agreed :
1. That while they have learned with very great regret that
Her Majesty's Imperial government has finally declined to
sanction the proposal made on behalf of these Provinces, in
December, 1861, and at previous periods, they at the same time
acknowledge the consideration exhibited in substituting the
proposal of " an Imperial guarantee of interest towards enabling
them to raise by public loan, if they should desire it, at a moder-
ate rate, the requisite funds for constructing the railway."
2. That with an anxious desire to bind the Provinces more
closely together, to strengthen the connection with the mother
country, to promote their common commercial interest, and to
provide facilities essential to public defences of these Provinces
as intregal parts of the Empire, the undersigned are prepared to
assume, und^r the Imperial guarantee, the liability for the
expenditure necessary to construct this great work.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 251
3. That the three governments are agreed that the proportion
of liability for the necessary expenditure shall be apportioned as
follows, namely : Five- twelfths for Canada and seven-twelfths to
be equally divided between the Provinces of New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia.
4. But it is understood that the liability for principal and
interest shall be borne by each Province to the extent only of the
proportion hereby agreed upon.
5. That in arriving at this conclusion the undersigned have
been greatly influenced by the conviction that the construction
of the road between Halifax and Quebec must supply an essen-
tial link in the chain of an unbroken highway, extending through
British territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in the comple-
tion of which every Imperial interest in North America is most
deeply involved ; and the undersigned are agreed that to present
properly this part of the subject to the Imperial authorities, the
three Provinces will unite at an early day in a joint representation
on the immense political and commercial importance of the
western extension of the projected work.
J. S.
MCDONALD,
L. V. SlCOTTE,
J. Mossis,
W. P. ROWLAND,
WM. McDouGALL,
M. J. TESSIER,
Representing
Canada.
THOS. D'AHCY McGrEE,
F. EVANTURAL,
ADAM WILSON.
JOSEPH HOWE,
J. McCuLLY,
WILLIAM ANNAND.
Representing
' Nova Scotia.
S. L. TILLEY,
W. H. STEEVES,
P. MITCHELL.
Representing
[New Brunswick.
252 LIFE AND TIMES OF
MEMORANDUM No. II.
Agreed at the conference of the delegates of Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick and the government of Canada :
1. If it should be concluded that the work shall be constructed
and managed by a joint commission of the three Provinces, it
shall be constituted in the proportion of the two appointed by
the government of Canada, and one each by the governments of
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the four to select a fifth before
entering upon the discharge of their duties.
2. That a joint delegation proceed with as little delay as
possible to England to arrange with the Imperial government the
terms of the loans, the nature of the security required, the
amount to be paid for the transport of troops and mails, and, if
possible, to obtain a modification of the terms proposed to the
extent of the interest accruing during the construction of the
work.
3. That no surveys be authorized until the laws contemplated
shall have been passed and the joint commissioners appointed ;
that any profit or loss, after paying working expenses, shall be
divided in proportion to the contribution of the several Pro-
vinces.
4. That such portions of the railways now owned by the
governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which may be
required to form part of the Intercolonial road, shall be worked
under such joint authority as may be appointed by the three
Provinces ; that the rates collected shall be uniform over each re-
speqtive portion of the road. That all net gain or loss resulting
from the working and keeping in repair of any portion of the road
constructed by Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and to be used as
a part of the Intercolonial Railway shall be received and borne
by the said Provinces, respectively, and the surplus, if any, after
the payment of interest, shall go in abatement of interest on the
whole line between Halifax and River du Loup.
5. That the Crown Lands required for the line and for stations
shall be provided by each Province.
(Signed),
THOMAS D'ARCY McGEE, for Canada.
JOSEPH HOWE, for Nova Scotia.
S. L. TILLEY, for New Brunswick.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 255
The delegation to England was composed of the fol-
lowing gentlemen : The Hon. Mr. Rowland and the
Hon. Mr. Sicotte for Canada ; Hon. Joseph Howe for
Nova Scotia, and the Hon. S. L. Tilley for New
Brunswick.
The departure of the .Canadian delegates was delayed
by a prolonged session of Parliament, but after their
arrival in London an early conference was arranged with
Mr. Gladstone. The objections taken at this conference
by the delegates to the proposed terms were mainly to
the Sinking Fund provisions. Mr. Gladstone desired
that 3,000,000 should be set aside for this purpose, and
it appeared that this was to be a first charge upon the
revenues of the several Provinces. The delegates pre-
sented fully their objections to the Sinking Fund,
and asked that their reasons as stated should have
the favorable consideration of the Imperial govern-
ment. This Mr. Gladstone promised a week later.
In the meantime the Canadian delegates left for
Paris. Before the week expired Mr. Gladstone sent
his reply to the delegates. He held to his demand for a
Sinking Fund, but explained that he did not wish the
guarantee to take precedence of the then existing liabil-
ities of the several Provinces. A copy of Mr. Gladstone's
reply having been submitted to Mr. Howe and Mr. Tilley,
then in London, and it being necessary for Mr. Tilley to
return to New Brunswick at the earliest date possible,
they prepared and submitted to the Duke of Newcastle a
Memorandum, of which the following is a copy :
254 LIFE AND TIMES OF
As the Intercolonial Railroad is a work in which the Imperial
and Colonial governments are assumed to have a joint interest, as
the undersigned regard it as indispensable to national defence, and
to the transportation to this country of breadstuff's, in case war
with the United States should ever arise, they hope Mr.
Gladstone may be induced to reconsider the matter of the Sinking
Fund and trust that the Cabinet may be enabled to convince
Parliament that under all the circumstances of the peculiar case,
a Sinking Fund should not be insisted upon. But if it is, the
undersigned will not assume the responsibility of periling or
delaying this great enterprise by neglecting what the Chancellor
of the Exchequer seems to regard as an indispensable condition.
]f they did they do not believe that such a course would meet the
approbation of the governments they represent.
(Signed),
JOSEPH HOWE,
S. L. TILLRY.
It is understood that on receipt of Mr. Gladstone's
reply by the Canadian delegates, they left England wich-
out an acceptance of the terms proposed, and without a
formal rejection. Previous to the meeting of the Cana-
dian Parliament Mr. Tilley was requested to proceed to
Quebec and urge upon the Canadian government the
preparation of the necessary bills to carry out the agree-
ment entered into for the construction of this great rail-
way. Mr. Tilley reported to the Lieutenant Governor of
New Brunswick, and to Mr. Howe, that the government
of Canada, for reasons stated by them, could not then
undertake to have passed the legislation required, which
they greatly regretted, but that they had not abandoned
the arrangements or the construction of the railway, and
would be willing to ask for a vote of money to cover
their share of the cost of its survey. It was, therefore, a
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 255
matter of great surprise and regret to the friends of this
international work in Canada and England that the
government, during the session, declared that they had
abandoned this .important enterprise. The feeling in
England on hearing this may be understood by a com-
munication sent to the government of Canada by a
representative organization in London, urging the speedy
completion of the proposed railway and the passage of
the needed legislation :
BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN ASSOCIATION,
185 GRESHAM HOUSE,
LONDON, January 29th, 1863.
SIR:
In pursuance of the wish expressed to the Secretary of
this Association, the Association addressed the Colonial Minister
under date the 8th inst., as per copy enclosed, urging that the
surveys preliminary to the submission of the question of the
Intercolonial Railway to the Imperial Parliament, should be pro-
ceeded with as soon as possible. I am instructed confidentially to
say that in reply to this application, the Association have received
under date of 21st January, a letter by direction of the Colonial
Minister, in which it is stated that "Her Majesty's Government
can have no objection to the commencement of the surveys
necessary in order to determine the line of railway and ascertain
the cost, as soon as the Colonial governments shall have author-
ized the advance of the requisite funds and shall have come to an
arrangement respecting the appointment of the officers to be em-
ployed."
Thus it will be seen that the request which the Association
was desired to make is at once consented, and it will now rest
with the Provinces by a very small outlay of money to make the
preliminary survey and obtain that estimate of cost, which are
all that in the first instance Her Majesty's government will re-
quire. In fact it is the desire, as the Association believe, of the
Imperial government to throw no technical obstacle in the way,
but if the provinces will enable them to do so, to bring the whole
256 LIFE AND TIMES OF
question before Parliament in the coming sessions. To this end
the surveys and estimates are not required to be those tinal
and elaborate documents upon which the works would be let by
contract, but merely reliable general facts which practical men
would require in order to guide their judgment as to the feasa-
bility and costs of ttie project.
But the Association regret to learn that while the delegates
from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick expressed a concurrence
in the general scheme proposed by the treasury, the delegates
from Canada sent to His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, on the
day of their leaving England, and to quote the words of the letter
from the Colonial office above alluded to, "without seeking any
further discussion or the removal of any misapprehension or un-
certainty in which they might be involved," a Memorandum
conveying their dissent to the above named treasury minute and
giving counter proposals which the Association cannot think
differ essentially from the scheme proposed by Her Majesty's
government.
The Association believe that the three points of difference are :
First, as to the proposed rate of interest on the debentures ;
Second, as to the Sinking Fund, and Third, as to the suggestion
that Her Majesty's government shall be satisfied that the railway
can be constructed without the Imperial government being asked
for further assistance.
As regards the latter point, that will be determined with the
greatest ease by the estimates of cost which the preliminary
surveys proposed may exhibit, and the Association believe that
the faith of Her Majesty's government in the entire solvency of
the Provinces will satisfy them on this head so soon as such sur-
vey and estimate be presented to them, and more especially so as
the Association believe that Her Majesty's government are ready
to agree to the appointment of an Engineer, and that the plans
and estimates may be in England, if immediate dispatch is exer-
cised, by the first week in June.
As regards the second point, it appears that the Chancellor of
the Exchequer proposed a definite scheme of Sinking Fund, while
the Canadian delegates proposed a Sinking Fund in another form,
namely, " In which profits of the road shall be applied towards
extinction of the loan."
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 257
As regards the first point, it will be obvious, on reading carefully
the treasury minute alluded to, that the illustrative calculations
therein made are merely hypothetical, while on the other hand it
is, as the Association believe, a fact that money can be raised, if
the Imperial guarantee is proposed, at the rate named by the
delegates, namely 3J per cent., and if this be so then the most
material difficulty of all is clearly disposed of.
Under these circumstances the Association would hope that the
Canadian government, in view of the present state of political and
other circumstances, may see their way to a frank explanation
with Her Majesty's government, and that the misapprehensions
for the Association will not believe they are more which have
arisen may be removed without delay.
The Association are all the more anxious on this head because
experience has proved that misunderstandings of this nature are
very difficult to remove when once established. Th Association
have learned with very great regret that the leading organ of a
large political party in Canada has declared that Messrs. Sicotte
and Rowland have succeeded in their real mission, namely, the
indefinite postponement of the Intercolonial Railway.
The Association will not believe that this statement possesses
any color of truth, but they allude to it in order to show how,
connected with what has taken place, so vigorous an allegation
may be used to damage, in the opinion of the people of this
country, a great enterprise which the Association hope all true
patriots.both in Great Britain and Canada, have sincerely at heart.
I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your very obedient servant,
A. D. HAY, Chairman.
To the Honorable, the Provincial Secretary of Canada, Quebec.
The engagements entered into by the governments of
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were discharged to the
letter by the passage of the necessary legislation, though
with some opposition. No further steps were taken by
the government and Legislature of Canada to secure the
construction of this railway until the Confederation nego-
tiations were commenced in 1864. Q
258 LIFE AND TIMES OF
CHAPTER IX.
We now come down to an event of the greatest interest,
in which Mr. Tilley took part, and one of such vast and
widely reaching importance that it overshadows every
other part of his distinguished career. The confederation
of the Canadian Provinces was beyond all question the
most notable movement that had been taken by any
Colony of the British Empire since the Declaration of
Independence of the thirteen Colonies. It changed at
once the whole character of the Colonial relation which
had subsisted with the mother country, and substituted
for a few weak and scattered Colonies a powerful Do-
minion, able to speak with a united voice, and stand as a
helpmeet to the nation from which most of its people had
sprung'. No man, whatever his views as to the wisdom
of that political union may have been at the time, can
now deny that it was timely and necessary, if the Colonies
and the mother country were to preserve their connection
with each other. It is safe to- say that if Confederation
had not taken place in 1867, British interests on this
continent would have suffered, and possibly some of the
Colonies would now have been a part of the United
States. The policy of separating the Colonies from
England, which has been so much advocated by many
leading public men in the great republic, would have
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 259
found free scope, and by balancing the interests of one
Colony against those of another, promoting dissensions
and favoring those Provinces which were disposed to a
closer union with the United States, something might
have been done to weaken their allegiance to the British
Empire, connection with which is now the glory and the
strength of the Dominion of Canada. .
The question of the union of the several Colonies of
British North America was by no means a new one when
it came up for final settlement. It had been discussed at
a very early period in the history of the Provinces, and
indeed it was a question which it was quite natural to
discuss, for it seemed but reasonable that Colonies of the
same origin, owning the same allegiance, filled with
people who differed but little with each other in any
respect, and with many commercial interests in common,
should form a political union. No doubt it might have
been brought earlier to the front as a vital political
question but for the fact that the British government,
which was most interested in promoting the union of the
Colonies, took no step towards the end until almost com-
pelled by necessity to move in the matter. The Colonial
policy of England, as represented in the Colonial office
and in the royal instructions to Colonial governors, has
seldom been wise or far-seeing, and the British Colonies
which now girdle the world have been built up mainly
as the result of private enterprise ; for the part taken by
the government has, in most cases, been merely a con-
currence in what private individuals have already done,
260 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and to assist in protecting British interests when they
have become important, especially in new regions of the
world. When we consider the manner in which Cabinet
appointments have been and arc still arranged in Eng-
land, this weakness on the part of the Colonial office need
not surprise us. The English Prime Minister, in filling
up his Cabinet, can give but little attention to the ques-
tion of merit and fitness, as compared with availability on
the score of influence and family connection. Until
recently the system of government in England has been
mainly aristocratic, and leading families, who were
supposed to be able to lend political strength to the
Cabinet, were able to force inefficient members upon it,
thus making it an aggregation not of talents but of money
and titles. Until the year 1801, the business of the
Colonies was carried on at the home office, but in that
year it was transferred to the Secretary of State for War,
and so continued until 1854, when the offices were
divided, and Sir George Grey became first Secretary of
State for the Colonies. Under such circumstances we
need not feel any surprise that the business of the
Colonies was done in a very imperfect fashion, and that
very absurd notions prevailed in regard to the manner in
which they ought to be treated.
It has been seen that in the early years of New Bruns-
wick's history the government was largely controlled by
the Lieutenant Governor, who received his commands
from Downing street, and who made things pleasant for
himself by entering into alliance with leading families in
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 261
the Province, among whom the offices were divided, and
who enjoyed the distinction of being his advisers in all
matters. The home authorities seemed to think that if
these families were pleased everything was well, and they
claimed as a right the distribution of offices and the
control of legislation in a manner which no Colonial
Minister in his senses would now dream of attempting to
exercise. When the Earl of Durham was sent out as
Governor General of Canada after the rebellion there in
1838, he suggested in his report that the union of the
Colonies of British North America was one of the
remedies which ought to be resorted to for the pacification
of Canada and the reconstruction of its constitution.
Lord Durham, although of high descent and an earl of
the United Kingdom, was a strong Liberal, and in face a
Radical in his political notions, and as a consequence
incurred the hatred of all the aristocratic nobodies who
formed British society, and who even at this day are
ready to hiss a British Prime Minister of Liberal ten-
dencies. Lord Durham was made the object of bitter
attacks by the entire Tory body in England, and some
actions of his, in which he seemed to have strained the
constitution, were made a pretext for his dismissal from
office and his disgrace. He died a broken-hearted man, but
the principles which he enunciated in his report did not
die, but survived to find their full fruition a quarter of a
century later at a time when Toryism had less ability to
injure, and when it had somewhat modified its views with
regard to the Colonies.
262 LIFE AND TIMES OF
While a large proportion of the people of the Colonies
looked with favor upon the idea of a political union, there
was in all of them a large body of objectors who were
steadily opposed to it. People of that kind are to be
found in all countries, and they have existed in all ages
of the world's history. They are the persons who see in
every new movement a thousand difficulties which can-
not be surmounted. Their minds are constructed on the
principle of rejecting all new ideas, and hanging on to
old forms and systems long after they have- lost their
vitality. They are a class who look back f6r precedents
for any step of a political character which it is proposed
to take, and who judge of Everything by the standard of
some former age, and by the answer to the question
whether such a thing has' ever been heard of before or
not. They seem to forget that precedents must be
created some time or another, and that the 'nineteenth
century has as good a right to create precedents as any
of its predecessors. To these people every objection that
could be urged against Confederation was exaggerated and
magnified, and whenever any proposal was made which
seemed to tend towards the union of the Colonies their
voices were heard upon the other side. We need not
doubt the honesty or loyalty of these objectors, or con-
sider that they Were either unfavorable to British con-
nection or to the building up of the Empire. It was
merely their misfortune that constitutionally they were
adverse to change, and co'uld not see any merit in a
political movement which involved the idea of novelty.
SIR LEONARD TILLF.Y. 263
The principal advocate of Confederation in the Mari-
time Provinces was Hon. Joseph Howe, a man of such
ability and force of character that on a wider stage he
might have risen to great eminence, and have been
regarded as one of the world's mightiest statesmen.
When we contrast the- noble figure of Joseph Howe with
some of the nobodies who have been thrust into high
office in England, even into the Premiership, it is impos-
sible to restrain a regret that so great a man, one so
imperial in his instincts and views, should have been
condemned to spend his whole life in a small Province,
and to become so dwarfed by : its party politics as for a
time to lose his character as a statesman and sink to the
level of a mean politician looking for office rather than
for the good of his country. When the Confederation
question came up for final discussion in the Maritime
Provinces, Joseph Howe, who had awakened in these
Provinces the desire for such a union, was found arrayed
against it, and used all his eloquence and power to defeat
the measure of which he had been himself the leading
advocate, and which he had taught the people of Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick to consider essential to their
well-being. No more striding instance than this can be
recorded of the disastrous effect of small Provincial
politics on the mind of a great man.
The question of the politicial union of the British
North American Provinces was brought up in the House
of Assembly of Nova Scotia in 1854, and then the leaders
of both parties, Hon. Mr. Johnston for the Conservatives,
264 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and Hon. Mr. Howe for the Liberals, united in advo-
cating the measure and in depicting the advantage which
would accrue from it not only to Nova Scotia.but to every
British Province in North America. In 1858 the quest-
ion of Confederation was brought up in the Parliament of
Canada, and such a union was made a part of the policy
of the government, for Mr. A. T. Gait, on becoming
a member of the administration, insisted upon it being
made a Cabinet question, and Sir Edward Head, the
Governor General, in his speech at the close of the session,
intimated that his government would take action iu the
matter during the recess. Messrs. Cartier, Gait and Ross,
who were in England, representing the government of
Canada, waited upon the Colonial Secretary, Sir Edward
Bulwer Lytton, asking the authority of the Imperial
government for the meeting of representatives from each
of the Colonies to take the question of union into con-
sideration, but met with a rebuff, which no doubt was the
result of a conference with the other members of the
government on the subject. The Earl of Derby, whose
on afterwards became Governor General of the Dominion
of Canada, was then Prime Minister, and his government
had no inclination at that time to enter into so vast a
question as the union of the British North American
Colonies. The Colonial Secretary informed the Canadian
delegates that the question of Confederation was necess-
arily one of an Imperial character and declined to authorize
the meeting, because no expression of sentiment on the
subject had been received from any of the Maritime
SIR LEONARD TILLEY 265
Provinces except Nova Scotia. The Earl of Derby's
government fell a few months after this declaration of its
policy in regard to the Colonies, and was succeeded by the
government of Lord Palmerston, which was in office at
the time when the negotiations, which resulted in the
Confederation of the Colonies, were commenced. At first
Lord Palmerston's government seemed to have been no
more favorable to the union of the Colonies than its prede-
cessor ; for in 1862 the Duke of Newcastle, then Colonial
Secretary, in a despatch to the Governor General of
Canada, after stating that Her Majesty's government was
not prepared to announce any definite policy on the
question of Confederation, added that " If a union, either
partial or complete, should hereafter be proposed, with the
concurrence of all the Provinces to be united, I am sure that
the matter would be weighed in this country both by the
public, by Parliament and by her Majesty's government,
with no other feeling than an anxiety to discern and
promote any course which might be the most conducive
to the prosperity, strength and harmony of all the British
communities of North America." It must always be a
subject of astonishment that the British government for so
many years should have had no definite policy on a matter
so momentous, and that they should have sought to dis-
courage, rather than otherwise, the project which has been
of such vast importance to the Empire as a consolidating
force, not only by the manner in which Canada itself has
been made to serve Imperial needs, but also for the
example which it showed to other Colonies of the way in
266
which they could preserve their connection with the
mother country, and at the same time enjoy freedom of
action in the administration of their affairs, while acquiring
that consideration and respect which is due to strength
and unity.
The first impulse in favor of Confederation in the
minds of the members of Lord Palmerston's Cabinet
seems to have developed .about the time when it became
evident that the result of the civil war in the United
States would be the defeat of the southern Confederacy
and the consolidation of the power of the great republic
in a more effectual union than that which had existed
before. No one who was not blind could fail to see that
this change of attitude on the part of the United States
would demand a corresponding change in relation to the
British Colonies towards each other; for from being a mere
federation of States, so loosely connected that secession
was frequently threatened by States both north and south,
the United States, as the result of the war, had become a
nation with a strong central government which had taken
to itself powers never contemplated by the constitution
and which added immensely to its offensive and defen-
sive strength. In 1863, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a
member, of the Canadian Cabinet and a man of great
eloquence and ability, visited St. John and delivered a
lecture in the Mechanics' Institute hall on the subject of
the union of the Colonies. His lecture was fully reported
in the " Morning News," a paper then published in
that city, arjd attracted a wide degree of attention because
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 267
it opened up a new subject of interest for the contem-
plation of the people of the Provinces. Shortly afterwards
a series of articles -on the same subject, written by the
author of this book, appeared in the columns of the
"Morning News," and were widely read and quoted.
These articles followed closely the lines laid down for the
union of the Colonies by the late Peter S. Hamilton, a
writer of ability, whose articles on the subject were
collected in pamphlet . forni and extensively circulated.
Thus in various ways the public mind was being educated
on the question of Confederation, and the doctrine that the
union of the British North American Colonies was de-
sirable was generally accepted by the persons who gave
any attention to the subject. It was only when the
matter came up in a practical form, and as a distinct
proposition to be carried into effect, that the violent
opposition which afterwards developed itself against
Confederation began to be shown.
The failure of the negotiation for the construction of
. the Intercolonial Kailway had convinced the people of
New Brunswick that there was nothing to be hoped for at
that time in regard to the completion of that great work.
Their minds, therefore, were naturally turned towards
obtaining railway connection with the United States, and
completing the original scheme of the European and North
American Kailway, which was designed to run from Hali-
fax to Bangor by way of St. John, and there connect with
the railway system of the United States. The govern-
ment of Nova Scotia had already constructed as a part of
268 LIFE AND TIMES OF
that work the line from Halifax to Truro, while the
government of New Brunswick had built the line from
Shediac to St. John, but the portion between Moncton and
Truro, which was necessary to connect with Halifax, and
the portion between St. John and Bangor, which was
necessary to connect with the United States, still re-
mained unbuilt, and indeed no step had been taken
towards its construction. In St. John a demand arose for
the construction of the railway to the Maine border as a
government work, it being understood that the line from
Bangor to the New Brunswick boundary, "would be built
if our people would meet the Maine people on the
border." A numerously signed petition was sent up to the
government on the subject, at the session of 1864, and
such a strong pressure was brought to bear upon the
administration that it was clear something had to be
done to assuage the threatened storm and to give the
people of the Province such railway facilities as they
demanded. It was clearly impossible for the government
to comply with the request of the St. John people and
their representatives, unless something was done also to
aid railway construction in other parts of the Province.
There always has been in New Brunswick a very con-
siderable amount of sectional jealousy on such subjects,
and it was not to be supposed that the people of the North
Shore and up river counties would view with com-
placency the proposal to expend a very large sum of
money in building the railway to the Maine boundary,
while nothing was being done to enable them to obtain
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 269
railway facilities. Under these circumstances the govern-
ment resolved upon the introduction of a Eailway Facility
Act, giving a bonus of SI 0,000 a mile for the construction
of certain railways. The lines embraced in this Act were
a line from St. John to the Maine border, with a branch to
Fredericton ; a line from St. Stephen to the St. Andrews
line, and from the terminus of that line to Woodstock ; a
line from some point between Moncton and Shediac to the
Nova Scotia boundary ; a line from some point on the
European and North American Railway to Hillsboro and
Hopewell ; and a line from Moncton north to the Mira-
michi.
This bill, when it made its appearance in the House of
Assembly was considered by the opposition to be a very
absurd measure, and some of the wits of that side of the
House named it the Lobster Act, because its provisions
seemed to extend to all parts of the Province, like the
claws of a lobster. But the result has amply justified
the wisdom of Mr. Tilley and his colleagues, by whom
the Act was framed and carried in the Legislature. The
person who predicted that no railway would ever be built
under it found that they had greatly mistaken the temper
and enterprise of our people ; because no sooner was it
passed than measures were taken to render it operative.
Under this act, in the course of a few years, the line was
built to the Maine border with a branch to Fredericton ;
the connection with Woodstock and St. Andrews was
completed ; a line from Painsec Junction to Sackville was
constructed, and also a line into Albert County. In fact
270 LIFE AND TIMES OF
practically all the lines contemplated by this Act have
since been built, either under its terms, 'or in other ways
which rendered the facilities it gave unnecessary.
At the same session of the Legislature a highly im-
portant subject was taken up which aided very materially
in the movement which afterwards culminated in the
confederation of the British North American Colonies.
Resolutions were passed authorizing the government to
eiiter into negotiations and hold a convention for the
purpose of effecting the union of the Maritime Provinces.
Similiar resolutions were carried in the Legislatures of
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and the convention
thus authorized was appointed to meet at Charlotte town,
in the latter Province, in the month of September follow-
ing. This movement for Maritime Union arose as the
result of negotiations which had been going on for some
time between the governments of Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick.
Previous to the year 1861 a number of factories of
various kinds had been established in the Maritime Pro-
vinces, but the limited market they then enjoyed
prevented their extension and crippled their operations.
To remedy this, Mr. Tilley, with tne approval of his
colleagues in the government, visited Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island and proposed to the governments of
both Provinces the free exchange of the manufactures of
the three Provinces, free admission of their natural pro-
ducts and a uniform tariff on dutiable goods. In Halifax
he had a lengthy and satisfactory conference with Mr.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. . 271
Howe, the then leader of the government, and with Dr.
Tapper, the leader of the opposition. Both gentle-
men agreed that the proposed arrangements would be in
the interests of the three Provinces, and Mr. Howe agreed
to submit the matter to his government with the view of
legislative action at the next session. Mr. Tilley then
proceeded to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. At
the conference held with the government there his pro-
posal was not so favorably entertained, the objection being
that the then tariff of Prince Edward Island was lower
than the tariff of either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick,
and sufficient for the financial wants of the Island, and
that the necessary advance would be imposing taxation
beyond their requirements. Notwithstanding the failure
to secure the co-operation of the Island government it was
decided that the joint action of the Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick Legislatures in the direction named was
desirable. When the Nova Scotia Legislature met and
the public accounts were proposed, it was found that a
reduction of the tariff was not practical, and Mr. Howe
informed Mr. Tilley that the scheme would have to be
postponed, though in other respects desirable. One of the
objects of the conference later on, to consider the union of
the Maritime Provinces, was the securing of the trade
arrangements proposed by the conference referred to. The
step taken in 1861 led up to the larger questions pre-
sented in 1864.
fAnother event occurred in the summer of 1864 which
had its effect on the question of Confederation. Up to
272 LIFE AND TIMES OF
that time the people of Canada and New Brunswick had
been almost wholly unknown to each other because the
difficulties of travelling between the two Provinces were
_ij. so great. Any person who desired to reach Montreal at
that time from St. John, had to take the International
steamer to Portland and was then carried by the Grand
Trunk Eailway to his destination. Quebec could be reached
in summer by the steamer from Pictou which called at
Shediac,\but in winter the journey had to be made by the
Grand Trunk Eailway from Portland, the only alternative
route being the road by which the mails were carried
from Edmundston north to the St. Lawrence. LjJnder
these circumstances the people of the Canadian Provinces
had but few opportunities of seeing each other, and the peo-
ple of both Provinces knew much more of their neighbors
in the United States than they did of their fellow Colonists.j
\0ne result of Hon. D'Arcy McGee's visit in 1863 was an
invitation by the City of St. John to the Legislature of
Canada to visit the Maritime Provinces. The invitation
was accepted and a party of about a hundred, comprisiDg
a number of the members of the Legislature, newspaper
men and others, visited St. John in the beginning of
August, 1864. Their trip was extended to Fredericton,
where they were the guests of the government of New
Brunswick, and to Halifax where they were the guests of
that city and of the government of Nova Scotia. This
visit produced a good effect upon the public mind and
enabled our people to see what kind of men their fellow
Colonists of Upper and Lower Canada wereT]
11
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 273
In the meantime a great crisis had arisen in the govern-
ment of Canada which was the immediate cause of the
active part which that Province took in the Confederation
movement. When Upper and Lower Canada were united
in 1841 it was arranged that the representation of each
Province in the united Legislature should be equal. The
arrangement at that time was favorable to Upper
Canada, which had a smaller population than Lower
Canada, but in the course of time as the population of
Upper Canada increased faster than that of the Lower
Province, the people of Upper Canada felt that they had
much less representation than they were fairly entitled
to, and this state of affairs raised a cry of "Eepresentation
by Population" which was so often heard in that Province
prior to the era of Confederation. In 1864 Upper Canada
had half a million more people than Lower Canada, and
yet was only entitled to the same number of members in
the Legislature. Another serious difficulty, which arose
out of the Act of Union, was the necessity of the govern-
ment having a majority in the Legislature of each Prov-
ince, This in time grew to be so flagrant an evil that
the successful government of Canada became almost im-
possible, for the majority for the government in one
Province might at any time be disturbed by some local
feeling of jealousy, and as a consequence the government
overthrown. To trace the history of the difficulties which
arose from this cause would be to recite twenty years of
the history of Canada, but it is only necessary to point
out thus plainly the reasons for the willingness of the
274 LIFE AND TIMES OF
people of Upper and Lower Canada to resort to Confeder-
ation as a means of getting rid of their embarrassments.
In 1863 the Hon. John Saufield McDonald was leader
of the government, but he was compelled to resign when
Parliament met in the early part of 1864, and in March
of that year a new administration under the Premiership
of Sir E. P. Tache was formed. This new government
developed very little strength and was threatened with
defeat. But on the 14th of June, the following entry is
found in the journals of the Legislature of Canada :
"The Hon. Mr. Brown from the select committee appointed to
enquire into the important subjects embraced in a despatch to
the Colonial minister, addressed to him on the 2nd of February,
1864, by the Hon. Geo. E. Cartier, the Hon. A. T. Gait, and the
Hon. John Ross, then members of the Executive Council of the
Province, while in London acting on behalf of the government of
which they were members, in which they declared that very
grave difficulties now present themselves in conducting the gov-
ernment of Canada in such a manner as to show due regard to the
wishes of its numerous population ; that ' differences exist to an
extent which prevents any perfect and complete assimilation of
the views of the two sections ; ' that the progress of population
has been more rapid in the western section, and claims are now
being made on behalf of its inhabitants for giving them represen-
tation in the Legislature according to their numbers; that the
result is shewn by an agitation, fraught with great danger, to the
peaceful and harmonious working of our constitutional system,
and consequently detrimental to the progress of the Province, and
that the necessity of providing a remedy for a state of things that
is yearly becoming worse, and of allaying feelings that are daily
being aggravated by the contention of political parties, has im-
pressed the advisers of Her Majesty's representative in Canada
with the importance of seeking such a mode of dealing with the
difficulties as may forever remove them; and the best means of
remedying the evils therein set forth, presented to the House
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 275
the report of said committee, which was read as followeth : ' That
the committee have held eight meetings, and have endeavored to
find some solution for existing difficulties likely to receive the
assent of both sections of the Province.' A strong feeling was
found to exist among the members of the committee in favor of
changes in the direction of a federation system applied either to
Canada alone or to the whole of the British North American
Provinces, and such progress has been made as to warrant the
committee in recommending that the subject be again referred to
a committee at the next session of Parliament.
The whole respectfully submitted,
GEORGE BROWN,
Chairman."
On the same day that this entry was made the Tache
government was defeated by a vote of 60 to 58, on a
question relative to some transaction connected with
bonds of the City of Montreal. A deadlock had come
and, as it was evident that no new government which
could be formed was likely to command sufficient sup-
port, it became a necessity to make some new arrange-
ments in regard to the system of administration. Imme-
diately after the defeat of the government, Mr. George
Brown, leader of the opposition, spoke to several sup-
porters of the administration, strongly urging that the
present time should be utilized for the" purpose of settling
forever the constitutional difficulties between Upper and
Lower Canada, and assuring them that he was prepared
to co-operate with the existing or any other administra-
tion that would deal with the question promptly and
firmly, with a view to its final settlement. Messrs.
Morris and Pope, to whom he spoke, asked and obtained
leave to communicate this conversation to Mr. John A.
276 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Macdonald, the Attorney General, and Mr. Gait. Messrs.
Brown, Macdonald and Gait met on June 17th at the St,
Louis Hotel and discussed the situation. Mr. Brown
stated that nothing but the extreme urgency of the crisis
and the hope of settling the sectional difficulties of the
Province would, in his opinion, justify him in meeting
with the members of the government, with a view to
common political action. He was informed by Messrs.
Gait and Macdonald that they were charged by their
colleagues formally to invite his aid in strengthening the
administration, with a view to the settlement of those
difficulties. Mr. Brown stated that it was quite impos-
sible for him to become a member of any administration
then, and that he thought the public mind would be
shocked by such an arrangement; but he felt very
strongly that the crisis presented an opportunity of deal-
ing with this question that might never occur again. He
thought that another general election presented no pros-
pect of a much altered result, and he believed that both
political parties were better prepared than ever before to
look the true cause 01 all the difficulties in the face, and
endeavor to settle' the representation question on an
equitable and permanent basis. Mr. Brown added that,
if the administration were prepared to do this and would
pledge themselves clearly and publicly to bring in a
measure next session that would be acceptable to Upper
Canada,- he would heartily co-operate with them and en-
deavor to induce his friends to sustain them until they
had an opportunity of presenting their measure. Mr.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 277
Macdonald thought that it would be necessary for Mr.
Brown himself to become a member of the Cabinet, with
a view to give guarantees to the opposition and to the
country of the earnestness of the government. In reply
to a question by Mr. Brown as to what the government
proposed as a remedy for the injustice complained of by
Upper Canada, Mr. Macdonald and Mr. Gait replied
that their remedy was a federal union of the British North
American Provinces. Mr. Brown replied that this would
not be acceptable to the people of Upper Canada as a
remedy for existing evils ; that he believed that the fed-
eration of all the Provinces ought to come and would
come, but it had not been thoroughly considered by the
people, and there were so many parties to be consulted
that its adoption was uncertain and remote. He proposed
as an alternative remedy parliamentary reform based on
population, without regard to the dividing line between
Upper and Lower Canada.
Mr. Brown's proposal was declared to be impossible by
both Mr. Macdonald and Mr. Gait and after much discus-
sion it was found that a compromise might be had in the
adoption either of the Federal principle for all the British
North American Provinces or for Canada alone, with
provision for the admission of the Maritime Provinces
and the North Western Territory, when they should
express the desire. After some further negotiations, Mr.
Brown requested to have the views of the administration
as expressed to him reduced to writing, for the purpose of
being submitted confidentially to his friends. This was
278 LIFE AND TIMES OF
done, and the result was the following Memorandum to
which Mr. Brown gave his assent :
The government are prepared to pledge themselves to bring in
a measure next session for the purpose of removing existing
difficulties, by introducing the federal principle into Canada,
coupled with such provision as will permit the Maritime Pro-
vinces and the North West Territory to be incorporated into the
same system of government.
And the government will seek, by sending representatives to
the Lower Provinces and to England, to secure the assent of those
interests which are beyond the control of our own legislation, to
such a measure as may enable all British North America to be
united under a general Legislature based upon the federal prin-
ciple.
Mr. Brown was very reluctant to enter the Cabinet
for the purpose of carrying out this proposal, but his
presence in it was considered indispensable, and on the
thirtieth of June when the House was prorogued a new
government was announced of which the Hon. George
Brown and Messrs. Mowatt and MacDougall, two other
prominent Eeformers, were members, they having taken
the place of Messrs. Foley, Buchanan and Simpson in
the existing administration. Thus a coalition had been
formed between the leaders of the Eeform and Conservative
parties, for the purpose of carrying a measure for the
confederation of the British Provinces of North America,
It is easy to see from the tenor of the negotiations that
nothing short of the emergency which had arisen in Can-
ada could have induced the leaders of the Reform party
there to join with Conservatives in this movement, nor
is it likelv that the latter would have troubled them-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 279
selves about the matter had they not been influenced by
the same motive. The necessities of Canada, in a polit-
ical sense, alone brought about the existence of the present
great Dominion which stretches from ocean to ocean.
The delegates appointed by the government of New
Brunswick for the purpose of representing this Province at
Charlottetown in the convention for a union of the Mar-
itime Provinces, were the Hon. Messrs. Tilley, Steeves,
Johnson, Chandler and Gray. The first three were
members of the government, while Messrs. Gray and
Chandler were leading members of the opposition, so that
the arrangement had the assent of the leaders of both
political parties and was in no sense a party movement.
The Nova Scotia delegation consisted of Hon. Chas.
Tupper, the leader of the government, the Attorney Gen-
eral, Mr. Henry, and Mr. Dickey, a Conservative sup-
porter, and also the Hon. Adam G. Archibald and
Jonathan McCulley, leaders of the Liberal party. The
Prince Edward Island delegates were also chosen from
both sides of politics. The convention was opened in due
form at Charlottetown on September 8th, in the chamber
of the House of Assembly. The delegations had no
power to decide finally on any subject, because any
arrangements they made were necessarily subject to the
approval of the Legislatures of the three Maritime
Provinces. But at this time the sentiment in favor of
Maritime union was so strong it was confidently believed
that whatever was agreed upon at Charlottetown would
become the basis of a future union.
280 LIFE AND TIMES OF
The government of Canada had full knowledge of
what was going on at Charlottetown, and they considered
the time opportune for the purpose of bringing to the
notice of the delegates from the Maritime Provinces the
subject of a confederation of all the British North Am-
erican colonies. A telegram was received while the
delegates were in session announcing that representatives
of the government of Canada had left Quebec for the
purpose of meeting the delegates of the Maritime
Provinces, and placing certain proposals before them,
and on the receipt of this message the further con-
sideration of the question which they had met to
discuss was deferred until after the Canadian dele-
gates had arrived. They came in the government
steamer "Victoria" on the day following the receipt of the
telegram announcing their departure, and were found to
embrace the leading men then in Canadian public life,
the Hons. J. A. Macdonald, George Brown, George E.
Cartier, Alex. T. Gait, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Hector
L. Langevin, William MacDougall and Alex. Campbell.
Those delegates represented the Reform as well as the
Conservative party, and were therefore able to speak
with authority with regard to the views of the people of
both Upper and Lower Canada. They were accorded
seats in the convention, and at once submitted their
reasons why in their opinion a scheme of union, embrac-
ing the whole of the British North American colonies,
should be adopted. The Hon. John A. Macdonald and
Messrs. Brown and Cartier were heard on this subject,
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 281
the financial position of Canada was explained, and the
sources of revenue and wealth of the several Provinces
were discussed. Speeches were also made by Messrs.
Gait, McGee, Langevin and MacDougall, and after having
commanded the attention of the convention for two days
the Canadian deputation withdrew. Before doing so they
had proposed that if the convention concluded to suspend
its deliberations upon the question of Maritime Union,
they should adjourn to Quebec at an early day to be
named by the Governor General, to consider the question
of Confederation. On the following day the convention
adjourned upon the ground that it would be more for the
general interest of British North America to adopt the
larger union than a mere union of the Maritime Provinces,
and it was thought that this might be effected without
any very great difficulty, for there was then no strong
feeling evinced in any quarter against Confederation.
From Charlottetown the members of the convention and
the Canadian deputation went to Halifax, where they
were received most cordially and entertained at a banquet
at the Halifax hotel. They then took their departure for
St. John where they were entertained at a public dinner
at which many leading men of the city were present. The
chair was occupied by the Hon. John H. Gray, one of
the delegates, and the expressions in favor of the proposed
confederation were strong and hearty. No one could
have suspected at that time that the movement for Con-
federation would meet with so much opposition in New
Brunswick. All seemed plain sailing, but, as the result
282 LIFE AND TIMES OF
showed, the battle for Confederation had yet to be fought
and it was only won after a long and doubtful struggle.
According to arrangement the delegations from the
other provinces met in Convention at Quebec on the 10th
of October, all the colonies, including Newfoundland, were
represented and the delegates were as follows:
Canada Hon. Sir Etienne P. Tache, Premier M. L. C.;
Hon. John A. Macdonald, Attorney General West, M. P.
P. ; Hon. George E. Cartier, Attorney General East, M.
P. P. ; Hon. George Brown, President of the Executive
Council, M. P. P., Hon. Alex. T. Gait, Finance Minister,
M. P. P., Hon. Alex. Campbell, Commissioner of Crown
Lands, M. L. C. ; Hon. William MacDougall, Provincial
Secretary, M. P. P., Hon. Thomas D'Arcy McGee,
Minister of Agriculture, M. P. P., Hon. Hector Langevin,
Solicitor General East, M. P. P., Hon. J. Cockburn, Solici-
tor General West, M. P. P.. Hon. Oliver Mowatt, Post
Master General, M. P. P., Hon. J. C. Chapais, Commis-
sioner of Public Works, M. L. C.
Nova Scotia Hon. Chas. Tupper, Provincial Secretary,
M. P. P., Hon. W. A. Henry, Attorney General, M. P. P.,
Hon. E. B. Dickey, M. L. C., Hon. Adam G. Archibald,
M. P. P., Hon. Jonathan McCully, M. L. C.
New Brunswick Hon. Samuel L. Tilley, Provincial
Secretary, M. P. P., Hon. John M. Johnson, Attorney
General, M. P. P., Hon. Edward B. Chandler, M. L. C.,
Hon. John Hamilton Gray, M. P. P., Hon. Peter Mitchell,
M. L. C., Hon. Chas. Fisher, M. P. P., Hon. William H.
Steeves, M. L. C.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 283
Newfoundland Hon. F. B. T. Carter, M. P. P., Speaker
of the House of Assembly, Hon. Ambrose Shea, M. P. P.
Prince Edward Island Hon. John Hamilton Gray,
Premier, M. P. P. ; Hon. Edward Palmer, Attorney Gen-
eral, M. P. P. ; Hon. W. H. Pope, Provincial Secretary,
M. P. P. ; Hon. George Coles, M. P. P. ; Hon. A. A.
Macdonald, M. L. C. ; Hon. T. H. Haviland, M. P. P. ;
Hon. Edward Whelan, M. L.' C.
Sir Etienne P. Tache, who was then Premier of Canada,
was unanimously chosen President of the conference, and
Major Hewitt Bernard, of the staff of the Attorney General
West, Private and Confidential Secretary. It was
arranged that the convention should hold its meetings
with closed doors, and it was laid down as a principle of
the discussion, that as the matters to come up for debate
were all of a novel character, no man should be prejudiced
or held liable to the charge of inconsistency because he
had changed his views in regard to any particular matter
in the course of the discussion. It was also agreed
that the vote, in case of a division, should be by
Provinces and not by numbers, Canada having two votes,
representing Canada East and Canada West, and each of
the other Provinces one. This arrangement made it quite
certain that the interests of the Maritime Provinces were
not likely to be prejudiced by the result of the vote or
the work of the convention. It was soon decided that a
federal union was to be preferred to a legislative union,
and on the second day of the meeting the outlines of the
proposed confederation were submitted in a series of reso-
284 LIFE AND TIMES OF
lutions by the Hon. John A. Macdonald. The general
model of the proposed confederation was that of the
United States, but with this difference, that whereas in
the United States all powers, not expressly given by the
constitution to the federal government, are held to
belong to the several states, in the Canadian con-
titution all powers not expressly reserved to the several
Provinces were held to belong to the federal parliament.
Thus in the United States the residuum of power is in the
several states, and in Canada the residuum of power is in
the federal union, and in the Parliament of the Dominion.
No doubt the recent example of the civil war in the
United States, which was the result of an extreme asser-
tion of state rights, was largely responsible for this feature
of the Canadian constitution. It is clear, however, that
it is a feature that is to be commended, because its ten-
dency is to cause Canadians to regard themselves rather
as Canadians than as belonging to any particular
Province, while in the United States the feeling of state-
hood is still very strong, as has been shown by recent
events in that country, and in the discussion of such
matters as the silver question, which at some future time
may become as dangerous to the unity of the Republic as
the slavery question once was. There are, of course,
many other contrasts between the Canadian Confederation
and the federal union of the United States, arising from
radical differences in the system of government. Nothing
like responsible government, as understood in the British
Empire, exists in the United States, while this essential
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 285
feature had to be preserved in the Canadian constitution,
not only with reference to the Dominion Parliament, but
also in the Legislatures of the several Provinces. It is
quite safe to assert that viewing the Confederation in all
its aspects, it is a much more efficient and satisfactory
form of government than that which exists in the United
States, and that our Provincial governments are superior
in every respect to the state governments of that country.
It does not fall within the scope of this volume to deal
exhaustively with the proceedings at Quebec in which
Mr. Tilley, as the Finance Minister of New Brunswick,
took a very prominent part. One great difficulty which
arose was with respect to the amount of money to be
given by the federal government to the several Provinces
for Legislative purposes, in lieu of the revenue which
they had been accustomed to obtain from customs duties
and otherwise. The whole customs establishment
was to be transferred to the central government, and as
most of the Provinces would have no other means of
obtaining a revenue except by direct taxation, this feature
of the matter became of very vital importance. The
difficulty was increased by the fact that by the municipal
system then prevailing in Upper Canada, the local needs
of the municipalities, in the way of roads, bridges, schools
and other matters, were provided for by local taxation,
whereas in the Maritime Provinces the Provincial gov-
ernment had been accustomed to bear these burdens. It
was therefore an essential requisite to any scheme of
union, to make it acceptable to the people of the Mari-
286 LIFE AND TIMES OF
time Provinces, that sufficient money should be given to
the Provincial governments to enable them to continue
these services as before. It was difficult to convince the
representatives of Upper Canada of this, and it appears
that the conference came near breaking up without ar-
riving at any result, simply because of the apparently
irreconcilable differences of opinion between the repre-
sentatives of the Maritime Provinces and those of Canada
in regard to this point. Finally these differences were
overcome, and the conclusions of the conference were
embodied in a series of seventy-two resolutions, which
were agreed to, and which were to be authenticated by
the signatures of the delegates, and to be transmitted to
their respective governments, and also to the Governor
General, for the Secretary of State for the colonies. These
resolutions formed the first basis of Confederation and
became what is known as the Quebec scheme.
It was perhaps inevitable that during the discussion
of the scheme of Confederation by the Quebec convention,
the proceedings should be secret, but this restriction as
to secrecy should have been removed as soon as the
convention adjourned. That this was not done was the
principal reason for the very unfavorable reception which
the Quebec scheme met with from the people of New
Brunswick, when it was placed before them. It was
agreed at the Quebec conference that the scheme should
not be made public until after the delegates had reported
to their respective governments for their approval, but it
was impossible that a document, the terms of which were
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 287
known to so many men, should be kept wholly concealed
from the public, and so the details of the scheme leaked
out and soon became a topic for public discussioii. These
discussions would have been conducted in a much more
friendly spirit if the Quebec scheme had been given freely
to the world, but as it was, prejudices and jealousies in
many cases darkened the question, and made men who
were otherwise friendly to Confederation assume an atti-
tude of hostility to the Quebec scheme.
One of the points which at once attracted the attention
of the opponents of the scheme was the sum allowed to
the several Provinces for the purpose of conducting their
local affairs. As the Provinces had to surrender to
the general government their right to levy customs
and excise duties, it became necessary to make up in
some way a sum sufficient to enable them to carry on
these services which were still left to the Provincial
Legislatures. It was arranged that this sum should be
eighty cents a head of the population of the Provinces, as
established by the census of 1861, which would give to
the Province of New Brunswick something more than
$200,000. This feature of the Confederation scheme was
eagerly seized upon as being a convenient club with
which to strike it down. j_The cry was at once raised
that the people of New Brunswick were asked to sell
themselves to Canada for the sum of eighty cents a
head, and this parrot-like cry was repeated with varia-
tions throughout the whole of the election campaign
which followed in New Brunswick. I It has often been
288 LIFE AND TIMES OF
found that a cry of this kind, which is absolutely mean-
ingless when reduced to reason, is more effective than the
most weighty arguments for the purpose of influencing
men's minds, and this proved to be the case in New
Brunswick, when the question of Confederation was placed
before the people. It was conveniently forgotten by those
who attacked the scheme in this fashion that if the people
of New Brunswick were selling themselves to Canada
for the sum of eighty cents a head, the people of Canada
were likewise selling themselves to us for the same sum,
because the amount set apart for the Provincial Legis-
latures was precisely the same in each case. It would
not however, have suited the enemies of the Confederation
scheme to view the matter in this light ; what was wanted
was a cry which would be effective for the purpose of
injuring the scheme, and making it distasteful to our
people who were asked to vote upon it. Ut is not necessary
to assume that those who opposed Confederation were all
influenced by sinister motives. Many honest and good
men whose attachment to British institutions could not
be questioned were opposed to it, because their minds
were of a conservative turn, and because they looked
with distrust upon such a radical change which would
alter the relations which existed between the Province and
the mother country. Many, for reasons which it is not
easy to understand, were distrustful of the politicians of
Canada, whom they looked upon as of less sterling honesty
than our own, and some actually professed to believe that
the Canadians expected to make up their financial deficits
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 289
by drawing on the many resources of the Maritime Pro-
vinces through the Confederation scheme. On the other
hand Confederation was opposed in the Province of New
Brunswick by a number of men who could only be dis-
cribed as adventurers or discredited politicians, and who
saw in this contest a convenient way of restoring them-
selves to influence and power. There were also among
the opponents of the scheme some men who recognized iu
its success the means of perpetrating British power on this
continent, and who being annexationists naturally looked
with aversion upon it for that reason. The vast majority
of the people, however, had given the matter but the
slightest degree of attention, and their votes were cast in
accordance with prejudices hastily formed which they had
an opportunity of reconsidering before amother year and
a half had elapsedj
It had been arranged at the convention" that the first
trial of the scheme before the people should be made in
the Province of New Brunswick, the Legislature of which
was about expiring, and accordingly the appeal was made
to the people and the elections came on in the month of
March, 1865. [The enemies of Confederation were
very active in every part of the Province, and they left
no stone unturned to defeat the measure. The great cry
upon which they based their opposition to the union with
Canada was that of taxation, and, as the voters of New
Brunswick were not inclined to favor any policy which
involved high taxation, the appeals made in this way had
a powerful effect. All through the rural constituencies the
290 LIFE AND TIMES OF
opposition candidates told the electors that if they united
themselves with Canada direct taxation would be the im-
mediate result. That every cow, every horse and every
sheep which they owned would be taxed, and that even
their poultry would not escape the grasp of the Canadian
tax gatherers!] In the City of St. John Mr. Tilley and
his colleague, Mr. Charles Watters, were opposed by Mr.
J. V. Troop and Mr. A. E. Wetmore. Mr. Troop was a
wealthy shipowner, whose large means made him an
acceptable addition to the strength of the anti-Confederate
party, although previously he had taken no active part in
political affairs. Mr. Wetmore was a lawyer of standing
in St. John, who was considered to be one of the best nisi
prius advocates at the bar, and who carried the methods
of the bar largely into his politics. |Mr. Wetmore never
pretended to have any political principles, or any views
whatever of a fixed character in regard to Confederation,
or any other political subject. Indeed it was his boast
on a later occasion that, as he had been on both
sides of the Confederation question he had the as-
surance that he was at least right once"T7 He rushed
into the contest for the purpose of bettering his
own fortunes, and he succeeded in doing so by becom-
ing in the course of time Attorney General of the
Province, and later on a judge of the Supreme Court.
Mr. Wetmore when haranguing St. John audiences used
to depict the dreadful effects of Confederation in a manner
peculiarly his own. His great plea was an imaginary
dialogue between himself and his little son, that precoci-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 291
ous infant asking him in lisping tones, "Father what
country do we live in ?" to which he would reply "My
dear son you have no country, for Mr. Tilley has sold us
all to the Canadians for eighty cents a head."
In the county of St. John the Hon. John H. Gray,
Ohas. N. Skinner, W. H. Scovil and Mr. Quinton, who
ran as supporters of Confederation, were opposed by John
W. Cudlip,' T. W. Anglin, the Hon. R. D. Wilmot and
Joseph Coram. Mr. Cudlip was a merchant who at one
time enjoyed much popularity in the city of St. John, but
who was wholly unfit for political life. Mr. Cudlip was an
impulsive man, easily carried away by his feelings, and
after Confederation had become a fixed fact, he so far
forgot himself as to become an open advocate of annexa-
tion to the United States. He enjoys the distinction of
being the only member of our Legislature who has ever
moved a resolution in that body in favor of annexation.
Mr. Anglin was a clever Irishman, a native of the County
of Cork, who had lived several years in St. John and
edited a newspaper called the Freeman, which enjoyed a
great popularity among his co-religionists. Mr. Anglin
was admitted to be the leader of the Irish Catholics of St.
John and had acquired an ascendancy over them which
was not easily shaken. Yet he was not as a politician
a great success, nor did his efforts to improve the condition
of his countrymen always lead to satisfactory results.
The Hon. R. D. Wilmot had been a prominent Conserva-
tive politician, but was defeated and had retired to his
farm at Belmont, and for some years had been devoting
292 LIFE AND TIMES OF
his abilities to the raising of calves and swine. But at the
first note of alarm on the Confederation question he
abandoned his agricultural pursuits and rushed into the
field to take part in the contest, which he thought might
inure to his political advantage. Mr. Joseph Coram
was a leading Orangeman, a highly respected citizen,
whose sole claim to distinction was that he had person-
ated King William in an Orange procession which had
resulted in a riot some years before, and that his features
were supposed to resemble those of the Prince, whose
memory the Orange body has been created to honor.
| In the County of York the Hon. George L. JHathewax,
^rho was then Chief Commissioner of the Board of Works,
appeared in the field as an opposition candidate, in com-
pany with John C. Allen, John J. Eraser and William
H. Needham. Mr. Hatheway deserted the government
in its hour of need, apparently through mere cowardice,
because he judged from the cries that were raised against
Confederation that the current of public opinion was
strongly adverse to the Quebec scheme. He thought that
by deserting his colleagues he might retain his office in
the new government which was to be formed, and in this
view he was correct, but the final result showed that he
was as ready to desert his new allies as he had been those
with whom he had been before associated. He left Mr.
Tilley in the lurch on the eve of the Confederation con-
test, and he deserted the Smith government sixteen
months later when the second Confederation election
came to be run, thereby inflicting upon them a blow from
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 295
which it was impossible they could recover. Hatheway
was nothing more than a loud-mouthed demagogue, with
a large body and a small hearU William H. Needham,
whose name has already appeared in this volume, did not
pretend to have any political principles, but having been
for some time retired to private life, the Confederation
struggle gave him a good opportunity of getting into the
Legislature. Needham was a man of very considerable
ability, and had his principles been only equal to his
knowledge and talents he would have risen to the highest
position in this Province. But his shifty course on many
occasions made the public distrustful of him, and
he died without having enjoyed any of those honors
which men of far less ability, but of more political
honesty, have obtained. John James Fraser, now
Governor of this Province, was a man of a different
stamp, and seems to have been a sincere opponent of
Confederation from conviction. The same may be said
of John C. Allen, now Chief Justice of this Pro-
vince, a man whose sterling honesty has never been
questioned.
The result of the election was the most overwhelming
defeat that ever overtook any political party in the Pro-
vince of New Brunswick. Out of forty-one members the
friends of Confederation only suceeded in returning six,
Hon. John McMillan and Alexander C. DesBrisay for the
county of Restigouche ; Abner R. McLellan and John
Lewis for the county of Albert, and William Lindsay and
Charles Council for the county of Carleton. Every
294 LIFE AND TIMES OF
member of the government who held a seat in the House
of Assembly, with the exception of the Hon. John
McMillan, the Surveyor General, was defeated. The
majorities against the Confederation candidates in some of
the counties were so large that it seemed hopeless to ex-
pect that any future election would reverse the verdict.
Both the City and County of St. John and the County of
York made a clean sweep and returned solid delegations
of anti-Confederates. With the exception of the two
Carleton members, the entire block of counties on the
River St. John and the County of Charlotte, forming the
most populous and best settled part of the Province, de-
clared against the Quebec scheme. On the North shore,
Westmorland, Kent, Northumberland and Gloucester, pro-
nounced the same verdict, and on the day after the elec-
tion the strongest friends of Confederation must have felt
that nothing but a miracle could ever bring about a change
in the opinion which had been pronounced with such
emphasis and with such apparent unanimity. Yet fifteen
months later the verdict of March, 1865, was complete-
ly reversed, and the anti-Confederates were beaten as
badly as the advocates of Confederation had been in the
, first election ; such are the mutations of public opinion.
Mr. Tilley and his colleagues resigned immediately after
the result of the elections, and the Hon. Albert J.
Smith was called upon to form a new government.
Mr. Smith had been Attorney General in Mr,
Tilley's government up to the year 1862, when
he resigned in consequence of a difference with
SIR LEONARD TILLEY 295
his colleagues in regard to the negotiations which
were being carried on for the construction of the
Intercolonial Railway. Mr. Smith was a fine speaker
and a man of good ability, and at a later period when
Confederation had been established, became a Cabinet
Minister in the government of the Hon. Alex. McKenzie.
His powerful inlluence was largely responsible for the
manner in which the North shore counties declared
against Confederation, and he also did much to discredit
the Quebec scheme by his speeches delivered in the City
of St. John. Mr. Smith did not take the office of
Attorney General in the new government, but contented
himself with the position of President of the Council,
Hon. John C. Allan, of York, becoming Attorney Gen-
eral, and Hon. A. H. Gilmour, of Charlotte, becoming
Provincial Secretary. The Hon. Bliss Botsford, of West-
morland, was made Surveyor General, the Hon. W. H.
Odell Postmaster General; and the Hon. George L.
Hatheway retained his old office as the Chief Commis-
sioner of the Board of Works. The other members of
the government were the Hon. Robert Duncan Wilmot
O
of Sunbury, the Hon. T. W. Anglin of St. John, and the
Hon. Richard Hutchinson of Miramichi. The new gov-
ernment looked strong and imposing, and seemed to be
secure against the assaults of its enemies, yet it was far
from being as compact and powerful as it appeared to the
outward observer. In the first place it had the demerit
of being founded solely on a negative, and upon oppos-
ition to a single line of policy. The reason why these
296 LIFE AND TIMES OF
men were assembled together in council as a government
was that they were opposed to Confederation, and this
question having been disposed of left them free to differ
upon all other points which might arise. Some of the
men who thus found themselves sitting together at the
same council board had all their lives been politically
opposed to each other. The Hon. E. D. Wilmot, an old
Conservative, could have little or no sympathy with Mr.
A. H. Gilmour, a very strong Liberal. The Hon. A. J.
Smith, also a Liberal, had little in common with his
Attorney General, Mr. Allen, who was a Conservative.
Mr. Odell, the Postmaster General, represented the old
family compact more thoroughly than any other man
who could have been chosen to fill a public office in New
Brunswick, for his father and grandfather had held the
office of Provincial Secretary for the long term of sixty
years. As he was a man of no particular capacity, and
had no qualification for high office, and as he was more-
over a member of the Legislative Council, his appointment
to such a position was extremely distasteful to many who
were strongly opposed to Confederation. The Hon. Bliss
Botsford of Moncton, who became Surveyor General, was
another individual who added no strength to the govern-
ment, being hopelessly dull by nature, and however
honest in his intention, wholly unable to outline or even
follow intelligently any distinct line of policy. With
four men in the government who might be classed as
Liberals, and five who might be properly described as
Conservatives, room was left for many differences and
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 297
quarrels over points of policy after the great question of
Confederation had been disposed of. Local feelings also
were awakened by the make up of the government, for
the North Shore people could not but feel that their
interests had been grossly neglected, as instead of having
the Attorney Generalship and the Surveyor Generalship
which had been theirs in the previous government, they
had to be content with a single member in the govern-
ment, without office, in the person of Mr. Eichard Hutch-
inson, who as the representative of Gilmour, Kankine
Co., was extremely unpopular even in the county which
had elected him. Hon. Eobert Duncan Wilmot was
perhaps the most dissatisfied man of any with the new
cabinet in which he found himself. He had not been a
fortnight in the government before he began to realize
the fact that his influence in it was quite overshadowed
by that of Mr. Smith and Mr. Anglin, although neither
of them held any office. Mr. Wilinot was a man of
ability, and of strong and resolute will, so that this condi-
tion of affairs became very distasteful to him and his
friends and led to consequences of a highly important
character.
The new government had not been long in existence
before rumors of dissensions in its ranks became very
common. Mr. Wilmot made no secret to his friends of
his dissatisfaction, and it was also understood that other
members found their position equally unpleasant. An
element of difficulty was early introduced by the resigna-
tion of the Chief Justice, Sir James Carter, who found it
298 LIFE AND TIMES OF
necessary, in consequence of failing health, to retire from
the Bench. Sir James Carter resigned in September,
1865, and it immediately became requisite to fill his
place. The Hon. Albert J. Smith, the leader of the
government, had he chosen might have then taken the
vacant position, but he did not desire to retire from
political life at that time, and the Hon. John C. Allen, his
Attorney General, was appointed to the Bench as a puisne
Judge, while Hon. Eobert Parker was made Chief Justice.
The latter, however, had but a few weeks to enjoy his new
position, dying in November of the same year, and leaving
another vacancy on the Bench to be filled. Again as
before, the Hon. Mr. Smith declined to go on the Bench,
and the Hon. John W. Weldon, who had been a long
time a member of former Legislatures, and was at one
time Speaker, was appointed to the puisne judgeship, and
the Hon. William J. Eitchie made Chief Justice. The
entire fitness of the latter for the position of Chief Justice
made his appointment a popular one, but he was the
junior of the Hon. Lemuel A. Wilmot as a Judge, and
the Hon. E. D. Wilmot, who was a cousin of the latter,
thought the senior judge should have received the
appointment of Chief Justice. His disappointment at
the office being given to another, caused a very bad feel-
ing on his part towards the government, and he would
have resigned his seat forthwith, but for the persuasions
of some of those who were not friends of the government,
who intimated to him that he could do them a great deal
more damage by retaining his seat, and resigning at the
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 299
proper time than by abandoning the government at that
moment. Mr. Wilmot remained in the government until
January, 1866, but although of their number his heart
was estranged from them, and he may properly be re-
garded as an enemy in their camp.
Mr. Anglin also had difference with his colleagues with
regard to railway matters, and he resigned his seat early
in November, 1865 ; still he gave a general support to
the government although no longer in its councils. But
the most severe blow which the government received,
arose from the election in the County of York which fol-
, lowed the seating of the Hon. John C. Allen on the bench.
The Confederation party had been so badly beaten in York
at the general election that no doubt was felt by the
government that any candidate they might select would
be chosen by a very large majority. The candidate
selected to contest York by the government was Mr.
John Pickard, a highly respectable gentleman, who was
engaged in lumbering, and who was extremely popular in
that county, in consequence of his friendly relations with
all classes of the community and the amiability of his
disposition. Mr. Pickard would have been an ideal
candidate had he been a better speaker, but he never
pretended to be an active politician, and therefore stood
at a disadvantage as compared to some men of no better
ability but of greater eloquence. The Hon. Chas. Fisher
was brought forward by the Confederation party as their
candidate in York, although the hope of defeating Mr.
Pickard seemed to be desperate, for at the previous
300 LIFE AND TIMES OF
election Mr. Fisher had only received 1226 votes against
1799 obtained by Mr. Needham, who stood lowest on the
poll among the persons elected for York. Mr. Fisher's
abilities have already been sufficiently referred to in this
work, and it need only be said that by his conduct in the
York campaign, which resulted in his election, he struck
a blow at the anti-Confederate Government from which
it never recovered. His election was the first dawn of
light and hope to the friends of Confederation in New
Brunswick, for it showed clearly enough that whenever
the people of this Province were given another opportu-
nity of expressing their opinion on the question of Con-
federation, their verdict would be a very different one
from that which they had given at the general election.
Mr. Fisher beat Mr. Pickard by 710 votes, receiving 701
votes more than at the general election, while Mr.
Pickard's vote fell 572 below that which Mr. Needham
had received on the same occasion.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 301
CHAPTEK X.
Among the causes that had assisted to defeat Confeder-
ation in New Brunswick, when the question was first
placed before the people, was the active hostility of the
Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Arthur Hamilton Gordon, a son
of that Earl of Aberdeen who was Prime Minister of Eng-
land at the outbreak of the Crimean war. Mr. Gordon
had been a strong advocate of Maritime Union and had
anticipated that he would be the first Governor of the
United Province of Acadia, or by whatever name the
Maritime Union was to be known. He was therefore
greatly disappointed and annoyed, when the visit of the
Canadians to Charlottetown, in September, 1864, put an
end to the conference which had met for the purpose of
arranging the terms of Maritime Union. While a
Governor cannot take a very active part in political
matters in this Province, he may stimulate others to
hostility or to a certain course of action, who under other
circumstances would be neutral or inactive, and there is
reason to believe that some of the men who were most
prominent in opposing Confederation at the general
election of 1864 were mainly influenced by the example
of the Lieutenant Governor. Confederation, however had
been approved by the British Government after the terms
302 LIFE AND TIMES OF
arranged at Quebec had been submitted to it in a despatch
from the Governor General, and those officials in New
Brunswick and elsewhere who expected to find support
in Downing street in their hostility to Confederation were
destined to be greatly disappointed. Not long after the
new government was formed in New Brunswick, Mr.
Gordon returned to England, and it is generally believed
that he was sent for by the home authorities. Instead of
meeting with a flattering reception on the ground of his
opposition to Confederation, he is believed to have been
compelled to submit to a stern reproof for his anti-consti-
tutional meddling in a matter which did not concern him,
and to have been given decidedly to understand that if he
returned to New Brunswick, to fill out the remainder of
his term of office, it must be as one pledged to assist in
carrying out Confederation and not to oppose it. When
Mr. Gordon returned to this Province he was an entirely
changed man, and whatever influence he was able to
exert from that time forward was thrown in favor of Con-
federation.
Another cause which made Confederation more accept-
able to the people of this Province arose from the threats
of the Fenians to invade Canada, which were made dur-
ing the year 1865 and which actually resulted in armed
invasions during the following year. Although there
was no good reason for believing that the opponents of
Confederation were less loyal than its supporters or less
inclined to favor British connection, it was remarked that
all the enemies of British connection seemed to "have got
SIR LEONARD T1LLEY. 303
into the anti-Confederate camp. The Fenian movement
had its origin in the troubles in Ireland, arising out of
oppressive land laws and other local causes, and it soon
extended to America where the politicians found it useful
as a means of increasing their strength among the Irish
people. At that time there were in the United States
many hundreds of thousands of men who had recently
been disbanded from the army at the close of the civil
war, and who were only too ready to embrace any new
opportunity of winning for themselves fame and rank on
other fields of glory. Among these disbanded soldiers
were many Irishmen, and it soon came to be known that
bands of men could be collected in the United States for
the invasion of this country with the avowed object o
driving the British flag from this continent and substitut-
ing the stars and stripes. It was impossible that the
people of Canada could view without emotion these
preparations for their undoing, and in New Brunswick
especially, which was the first Province to be threatened,
the Fenian movement materially assisted in deciding the
manner in which our people should vote on the great
question of Confederation when it came a second time to
be submitted to them.
The House of Assembly. met on the 8th March, 1866,
and the speech from the throne, delivered by the Lieuten-
ant Governor, contained the following paragraph : " I
have received Her Majesty's commands to communicate
to you a correspondence on the affairs of British North
America which has taken place between Her Majesty's
304 LIFE AND TIMES OF
principal Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Gov-
ernor General of Canada ; and I am further directed to
express to you the strong and deliberate opinion of Her
Majesty's government that it is an object much to be
desired that all the British North American Colonies
should agree to unite in one government. These papers
will immediately be laid before you." This paragraph
was not inserted in the speech without considerable pres-
sure on the part of the Lieutenant Governor, and it
excited a great deal of comment at the time because it
seemed to indorse the principle of Confederation, although
emanating from a government which had been placed in
power as the result of an election in which Confederation
had been condemned. When this portion of the speech
was read by the Lieutenant Governor in the Legislative
Council Chamber the crowd outside the bar gave a hearty
cheer, a circumstance which never occurred before in the
Province of New Brunswick, and perhaps not in any
other British Colony.
The members of the House favorable to Confederation
immediately took up the matter and dealt with it as if
the government had thereby pledged themselves in favor
of that policy, and indeed there was considerable excuse
for such inferences. When the secret history of the
negotiations between the Lieutenant Governor and his
advisers, prior to the meeting of the Legislature, comes
to be told, it will be found that at least some of the mem-
bers of the government had given His Excellency to
understand that they were prepared to reverse their
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 306
former action and to adopt Confederation. The difficulty,
however, with them was that they feared their own sup-
porters, and thought that if they made such a movement
they would lose the favor of those who had placed them
in power, and this inference was certainly a very natural
one.
As soon as the House met it was discovered that Mr.
A. R. Wetmore, one of the prominent supporters of the
government who had been elected to represent the City of
St. John as an anti-Confederate, was no longer in sympathy
with them. Mr. Wetmore's long experience as a nisi prius
lawyer and his curt and imperturbable manner, rendered
him a most exasperating and troublesome opponent, and at
a very early period of the session he commenced to make it
unpleasant for his former friends. He cross-examined the
members of the Government in the same fashion which
he had learned from long experience in the courts. Such
attacks proved extremely damaging as well as very
annoying.
The address in reply to the speech from the throne was
moved in the House of Assembly by Colonel Boyd, of
Charlotte County, and when the paragraph relating to
Confederation was read, Mr. Fisher asked him what it
meant. Mr. Boyd replied that the Government had no
objection to Confederation provided the terms were satis-
factory. This reply still further strengthened the feeling
that the Government were inclined to pass the measure
which they had been elected to oppose. Mr. Fisher moved
an amendment to the fourth paragraph of the address which
306 LIFE AND TIMES OF
referred to the Fenian conspiracy against British North
America, expressing the opinion that while His Excellency
might rely with confidence on the cordial support of the
people for the protection of the country, his constitutional
advisers were not by their general conduct entitled to the
confidence of the Legislature. This amendment was
seconded by Mr. DesBrisay of Kent, who had been a sup-
porter of the Government and it was debated at great
length. The discussion upon it continued from day to
day for about three weeks, when on the 9th of April the
Government resigned in consequence of difficulties with
His Excellency in regard to his reply to the address of
the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council had
gone on and passed the address in reply to the speech, but
in consequence of the delay in the House of Assembly,
this reply had not before been presented to the Gover-
nor. In answer to the address of the Legislative
Council which was presented to him on the same day
that the resignation of the Government took place, His
Excellency said: "I will immediately transmit your ad-
dress to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in order
that it may be laid at the foot of the Throne. Her
Majesty the Queen has already been pleased to express
deep interest in a close union of her North America
colonies and will no doubt greatly appreciate this decided
expression of your opinion and the avowal of your desire
that all British North America should unite in one com-
munity, in one strong and efficient governmeut,cannot but
tend to hasten the accomplishment of this great measure."
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 307
The resignation of the Government was announced in
the House of Assembly on the thirteenth of April, 1866, by
Hon. A. J. Smith, and the following the documents were
placed before that body, and are here reproduced because
they explain fully the causes which led to the resignation
of the government :
To His EXCELLENCY THE HON. ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON, C. M. G.,
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE PRO-
VINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK, ETC., ETC., ETC.
The Executive Council in Committee beg to acknowledge the
' receipt of Your Excellency's memorandum of the 7th inst., and
the reply therein referred to, which are as follows :
His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor transmits to his Coun-
cil a copy of the reply which he has this afternoon returned to an
address of the Legislative Council requesting His Excellency to
transmit to Her Majesty an address praying that Her Majesty
will be pleased to cause a measure for the union of the British
North American Provinces to be introduced into the Imperial
Parliament.
(Signed),
ARTHUR H. GORDON.
Fredericton, April 7th., 1866.
MR. PRESIDENT AND HONORABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE
COUNCIL :
I will immediately transmit your address to th% Secretary of
State for the Colonies, in order that it may be laid at the foot of
the Throne. Her Majesty the Queen has already been pleased to
express a deep interest in the union of her North American Dom-
. inions, and will no doubt graciously appreciate this decided
expression of your opinion. I rejoice to believe that the avowal
of your desire that all British North America should unite in one
community, under one strong and efficient government, cannot but
tend to hasten the accomplishment of this great measure.
The Council would subjoin a copy of the address referred to in
the above.
308 LIFE AND TIMES OF
"To THE QUEEN'S MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY :
" MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN, We, Your Majesty's faithful and
loyal subjects, the Legislative Council of New Brunswick, in
Provincial Parliament assembled, humbly approach Your Maj-
esty with the conviction that a union of all Your Majesty's
North American Colonies, based on the resolutions adopted at
the conference of delegates from the several colonies had at
Quebec on the 10th day of October, 1864, is an object highly to be
desired, essential to their future prosperity and influence, and
calculated alike to strengthen and perpetuate the ties which bind
them to Your Gracious Majesty's Throne and Government, and
humbly pray that Your Majesty may be graciously pleased to
cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for
the purpose of thus uniting the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island in
one government."
The Council in reply would respectfully remark that in their
opinion it was incumbent upon Your Excellency to consult your
constitutional advisers in regard to the answers so given, and in
assuming to yourself the right to reply to such address without
consulting them, Your Excellency has not acted in accordance
with the true spirit of the constitution.
In this connection the Council would beg to refer to the state-
ment appended herewith, giving an account of the two interviews
between Your Excellency and the Attorney General. The reply
so given by Your Excellency to the Legislative Council is a dis-
tinct and emphatic approval of their proceedings, the responsibil-
ity of which your advisers are unwilling to assume for the
following reasons :
1st. That in any measure involving an organic change in the
constitution and political rights and privileges of the people, they
should be consulted, and unless approved of by them, no such*
measure should be adopted or forced upon them.
2nd. That in March last a dissolution took place, professedly
with a view to ascertain the sense of the people upon the Quebec
scheme, and they pronounced unmistakably against its adoption
by large majorities.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 309
3rd. That the representation of the people at the last session
of the Legislature passed resolutions condemnatory of such
scheme by a majority of 29 to 10.
4th. That the Legislative Council are not elected by the people
and are not constitutionally responsible to them for their legis-
lative conduct and have no rightful authority to pray Her
Majesty to give effect by Imperial legislation to any measure
which the people have rejected.
5th. That such proceeding violates every principle of respon-
sibility and self government, and is subversive of the rights and
liberties of the people, and seeks to take from them their constitu-
tion not only without their consent, but against their clearly ex-
pressed wishes.
6th. That such a course is calculated to bring the Legislative
Council and House of Assembly into collision and disturb the
harmony that should subsist between them, and manifests an
entire disregard of the power and majesty of the people.
That the Legislative Council have a legitimate right to ex-
press their opinion upon any public question the Council do not
deny, but to invoke the aid of the British Government to coerce
the people into Confederation is a proceeding, in the opinion of
this Council, without parallel and wholly unwarrantable. The
Council would further remark that they have good cause to be-
lieve Your Excellency has, ever since the opening of the legis-
lature, consulted and advised with gentlemen of the opposition
and made known to them matters which they think should be
regarded as confidential. This we feel Your Excellency has con-
tinued to do notwithstanding the repeated objections of one or
more members of the Council, who told Your Excellency that it
was not right and that it gave the opposition a decided advantage
in the debate then pending, and Your Excellency having taken
the advice, as they truly believe, of a gentlaman of the opposition
as to the answer given to the Legislative Council on Saturday
last, instead of that of your constitutional advisers, they would
respectfully express their conviction that such a course was un-
constitutional and without precedent in any country where re-
sponsible government exists.
The Council would further state that the Government were sup-
ported by a majority of the members of the House of Assembly,
310 LIFE AND TIMES OF
of which fact Your Excellency was fully aware. Under these
circumstances the undersigned would beg respectfully to tender
to Your Excellency the resignation of their offices as Executive
Councillors.
Respectfully submitted,
A. J. SMITH,
B. BOTSFORD,
JOHN W. CUDLIP,
GEORGE L. HATHEWAY,
W. H. ODELL,
J. V. TROOP.
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION BETWEEN HIS EX-
CELLENCY AND MR. SMITH.
On Saturday the 7th inst., about 11 o'clock, I called at Govern-
ment House and had an interview with His Excellency, and in
the course of conversation the proceedings of the Legislative
Council were referred to, when I spoke in terms of disapproval of
the course which they adopted in reference to the subject of
union. Something was said about the presentation of the ad-
dress and His Excellency's reply thereto, when he asked me
what answer I would advise. I replied that in my opinion the
answer to be given should simply be that he would transmit it
to Her Majesty. His Excellency said that he would think of it
and see me again. He did not state that he intended to receive
them that day and I had not the most distant idea that he in-
tended to do so. I then parted from him. A few minutes before
three o'clock of the afternoon of the same day, in my place in the
House of Assembly, I received a note from him saying that he
wished to see me at once. I immediately repaired to Govern-
ment House, and after a short conversation with him upon other
matters, he informed me that he was going to receive the Legis-
lative Council with their address at three o'clock. I expressed
my disapproval of it and complained that he had not advised
with his Council before preparing it; that as they were respon-
sible for it th'ey should at least be consulted before it was given.
He remarked that if they did not approve of it they could relieve
themselves of responsibility. I replied, even if that were true
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. Sll
was it courteous and fair that the Council should be treated in
that way ; that what they asked from His Excellency was fair
play, not as a favor, but as a matter of right. He then proposed
that I should drive down to the House of Assembly and see my
colleagues and return in half an hour and he would keep the
Legislative Council, who in the meantime had arrived at Govern-
ment House, waiting until I returned. I said I could not do this;
that the debate of the vote of want of confidence was going
on, and that they could not leave the House. He replied,
" I suppose not." I further stated that it was unfair
and ungenerous, and net such treatment as the Council
had a right to expect, to be called upon in this sudden
and extraordinary way, in a matter so important. I expressed
my condemnation of the course adopted by the Legislative
Council and urged the impropriety of their praying Her Majesty,
the Queen, to cause a law of the Imperial Parliament to be passed,
giving effect to a scheme of union, which both the people and
House of Assembly had rejected by overwhelming majorities,
and that I never would consent to any address which authorized
the Imperial Parliament to pass an act of union without reference
to the people. I thought His Excellency seemed disposed to
yield the point and strike out the last paragraph of the answer,
which I considered very objectionable. He then asked me to
excuse him and left the room to consult as I thought at the
time, and from information received since, I am confirmed in
that opinion a gentleman of the opposition, and a member of
the Legislative Council, who was in the house at the time. He
returned in a few minutes, and after some conversation similiar
to that already detailed, told me that he would deliver the
answer as it was, and send me a copy in the evening. I remon-
strated against such conduct, but concluded by saying that if he
had resolved upon such a course, it was in vain to protract the
interview. I then left him.
(Signed),
A. J. SMITH,
312 LIFE AND TIMES OF
THE GOVERNOR'S REPLY.
FREDERICTON, April 13th.
The Lieutenant Governor has received from the members of
the Executive Council a minute, tendering their resignation of
their seats at the Council Board. The reason assigned by them
for this step is a disinclination to accept the responsibility of a
reply made by His Excellency to the Legislative Council, when
requested by that body to transmit to Her Majesty an address,
praying that a scheme for the union of the British North Ameri-
can Provinces may be introduced into the Imperial Parliament.
Several causes for this disinclination are enumerated by the
Council. They may, however, all be resumed in the objection
that the Legislative Council in adopting the address in question
over-stepped the limits of action prescribed to it by constitutional
principles and usage.
In this view His Excellency cannot at all concur, and he per-
ceives with regret the name of a member of the Upper House, for
whose character and abilities he has a sincere respect, appended
to reasoning, which would in His Excellency's opinion go far to
destroy the position of that chamber as an independent and co-
ordinate branch of the legislature.
The papers on which the address in question was founded were
laid before both houses of the legislature by Her Majesty's
express commands, at the commencement of the present session.
It had at that time long been known to Her Majesty's govern-
ment that the general election in New Brunswick of 1865 had
terminated unfavorably to the cause of union, and the communi-
cation was made to the Provincial Parliament in the avowed hope
that the question might be again considered and more favorably
received.
The address in answer to His Excellency's speech at the open-
ing of the session, even as originally proposed, conveyed an
assurance that those papers should receive a careful and respect-
ful attention from the Legislative Council ; but the chief
documents which the members of the body thus pledged them-
selves to consider, were the resolutions adopted at Quebec, the
approval of that scheme by Her Majesty, and the expression of a
hope on the part of Her Majesty's government, that its provisions
might be favorably considered in New Brunswick.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 313
On the questions thus submitted to them, by Her Majesty's
command, the Legislative Council were bound to inform and to
express an opinion. In so doing they have intimated their
approval of a union of the British North American colonies and
indicated the basis on which it might, in their opinion, be accom-
plished.
It is neither constitutional to maintain that the Legislative
Council is incompetent to act with reference to a scheme thus
submitted to them until after its previous approval by the House
of Assembly, nor can it be imagined that the Legislative Council
alone is debarred from that right of appeal which is accorded to
' all Her Majesty's subjects without distinction.
The Council also take exception to His Excellency's having de-
livered this reply without previously communicating to them the
terms in which it was couched. Without inquiring how far their
ministerial responsibility (from which it is always in their power
to escape) requires that the Council should , possess a previous
knowledge of all the Lieutenant Governor's words and actions,
His Excellency must observe that the non-communication to the
Council of the reply in question was the result, not of design, but
of accident, and that it was his intention and desire to have
afforded his Council a sufficient opportunity for its consideration.
The language employed by His Excellency to the Legislative
Council was not, however, inconsistent with the policy the
Council had informed him they were inclined to follow, or in his
judgment with the reply which with the knowledge and consent
of his Council he had returned a few days previously to an ad-
dress from the same body. His words were that he "Rejoiced to
believe that the avowal of your desire that all British North
America should unite in one community under one strong and
efficient government cannot but tend to hasten the accomplish-
ment of this great measure." This by no means conveys an
approval of the particular scheme, to the provisions of which his
Council made objection, although it does express a hope that a
union of the British North American Provinces might shortly 1 e
accomplished. But from previous commuications with the leader
of the government His Excellency was full v entitled to assume
that this hope was shared by his Council.
314 LIFE AND TIMES OF
On the eighth of January His Excellency received from the
Hon. R. D. Wilmot a letter tendering the resignation of his seat
in the Executive Council, and assigning as his chief reason for
doing so the indisposition of his colleagues to entertain propos-
itions for a closer union of the British North American Provinces.
To that resignation His Excellency declined to reply until after
the return of the President of the Council from Washington,
which took place on the 1st of February. On the following day
His Excellency had several communications with that gentle-
man. His Excellency observed that the resignation of Mr. Wil-
mot and the fact that the legislature had now been summoned
for dispatch of business rendered it necessary that a distinct
understanding on the subject of union should be arrived at be-
tween His Excellency and his advisers. It would be His Excel-
lency's duty in accordance with the instructions to submit the
question again to the Legislature on its assembling, and to express
the conviction of Her Majesty's government with respect to the
benefits likely to attend the measure. If Mr. Wilmot was mis-
taken in supposingthat the government had rejected all measures
of union, and Mr. Smith and his colleagues were prepared to
consent to the introduction into the speech at the opening of the
session of the recommendation of Her Majesty's government con-
veyed in Mr. CardswelPs despatch of the 24th July, 1865, it would
have been His Excellency's duty to accept the proffered resigna-
tion so tendered, and whether His Excellency would not be
bound to enquire whether Mr. Wilmot was prepared to undertake
the responsibility of recommending to the people the adoption of
a measure which was in the opinion of Her Majesty's govern-
ment calculated to confer benefits on Her Majesty's suojects in
this Province, and the accomplishment of which I was directed
by every means in my power to promote. The Lieutenant
Governor also endeavored to the best of his ability to point out
to Mr. Smith the advantages of a union of the British American
Provinces and the urgent necessity under existing circumstances
for effecting such a measure. His Excellency stated his con-
fident belief that if, after being accepted as a basis, it were found
that the details of the scheme agreed to at Quebec were open to
just and serious objections on the part of the Maritime Provinces,
the representation of their legislatures to that effect would be
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 315
certain to receive a respectful attention from Her Majesty's gov-
ernment and from that of Canada. His Excellency concluded by
handing to Mr. Smith the following Memorandum :
CONFIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM.
The Lieutenant Governor has been instructed by a despatch
from the Secretary of State for the colonies, bearing date July 24th,
1865, to express to the legislature of New Brunswick on its next
re-assembling, "The strong and deliberate opinion of Her Maj-
esty's government that it is an object much to be desired that
all the British North American colonies should agree to unite in
one government."
The Lieutenant Governor has now fixed the 8th proximo as
the day upon which the general assembly is to meet for business,
and before that period it is highly desirable that he should be
informed w hether his advisers are prepared to recommend the
legislature to give effect to the opinion thus expressed by Her
Majesty's government.
(Signed),
A. GORDON.
Fredericton, February, 1866.
This memorandum in compliance with Her Majesty's urgent
request was not formally transmitted to the Council, but it was
carefully read by him, and its substance communicated to his
colleagues.
Mr. Smith must have preceived, although His Excellency
abstains from any expression calculated to wound the suscepti-
bility of the Council, that had that memorandum received a
negative response, His Excellency was prepared to decline to
accede to the recommendation, that Mr. Wilmot's resignation
should be accepted, and to entrust to that gentleman the respon-
sibility of attempting to carry into effect the policy, on account
of his adherence to which he desired to quit the government
After several communications with the members of the Coun-
cil, Mr. Smith ultimately informed His Excellency that whilst
unable to accept in its integrity the scheme adopted at Quebec,
he and his colleagues were not indisposed to meet the wishes of
Her Majesty's government, and that it appeared to him that the
316 LIFE AND TIMES OF
requisite sanction for the adoption of such a course might be
obtained if the message transmitting th.e papers on that subject
to the legislature, were referred to a joint committee of both
houses, with an understanding that that committee should
report in favor of a measure of union.
His Excellency replied that he had no objection to such a
course, provided it was already understood beforehand, but that
reference was to be made only with a view of rendering it easier
for the government to adopt a course which they had themselves
in any case resolved to pursue, and with no intention to cast
upon the committee the duty of finding a policy for the govern-
ment, for that a reference of such a description, besides involving
an abdication of their proper functions as a government, would
cause much delay, and might after all terminate in a report
unfavorable to union, in which case it was needless to point out
to him, that so far from any progress having been made in the
desired direction, the position of the cause would have been
materially injured. Mr. Smith answered that he could not
beforehand formally pledge a committee of the legislature, but
that in making himself responsible for the recommendation of
such a course, it would be with the view of honestly carrying
out the policy so indicated. The committee having reported, the
next step to betaken appeared to His Excellency to be the
introduction by the government of an address to the Queen,
praying Her Majesty to take steps for the accomplishment of the
union, and His Excellency drew out the rough outline for such
an address, similar in substance to that adopted by the Canadian
Parliament, but adding a representation that portions of the
scheme agreed to at Quebec were received with apprehension
and alarm by a great part of the people of this and the adjoining
Provinces, and a prayer that Her Majesty would be pleased in
the preparation of any I mperial act to eftect the desired union,
to give just weight to the objections urged against such provision
on their behalf, to which proposal His Excellency understood
Mr. Smith to assent, and his impression to that effect is con-
firmed by finding it so stated in a note made at the time and
read by His Excellency a few days subsequently to Mr. Smith,
and in the despatches based on these notes, addressed by His
Excellency to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Mr. Smith
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 317
has lately, however, assured His Excellency that he only meant
that such an address might grow out of the committee, but he
did not intend to pledge himself in the first instance to propose
it
A controversy in respect to the words used in conversation
and the meaning intended to be conveyed by them is seldom
capable of satisfactory settlement, and it is not H is Excellency's
intention to discuss the greater accuracy of Mr. Smith's memory
01 his own. Whatever the precise nature of the course agreed to
on the 17th February was, it was one to which it was felt that it
would be more difficult to reconcile the friends and supporters of
the government than its actual members, and Mr. Smith left
Fredericton in order to prepare all his principal adherents for
the altered policy he professed to pursue, asking His Excellency
to observe the strictest secrecy on the subject until his return to
report either the acquiesence of his friends or the failure of his
efforts. Mr. Smith on his return informed His Excellency on
the 2nd of March that his party generally were willing to
assent to the course which he had consented to pursue. It was
accordingly agreed to insert in the speech on the opening of the
session the recommendation of Confederation made by Her
Majesty's government, as early as possible, to move the appoint-
ment of such a joint committee of both houses of the legislature
as should ensure the adoption of the scheme of union, whilst the
objections to the Quebec scheme should be carefully weighed
and examined at the same time by the committee.
What the precise alterations in that scheme were which would
have satisfied Mr. Smith, His Excellency was nver able exactly
to learn, but he found that representation according to population,
to which he entertained a strong objection, would not be regarded
by him as an insuperable obstacle to, union, should a larger share
of representation be secured to New Brunswick in the upper
branch of the proposed Federal legislature. His Excellency con-
sidering that the speedy accomplishment of a measure of union
was now a matter of absolute certainty, addressed to Mr. Smith
on the 7th of March, a letter of which the following is an extract:
"I have been much gratified, though not surprised to find that
you are disposed to approach the question of union as it now pre-
sents itself in a large and statesman like spirit, and to realize as
318 LIFE AND TIMES OF
facts the necessities which are imposed by the actual condition
of affairs. There is nothing which more distinguishes a states-
man from a man incompetent to deal with great affairs than this
power of appreciating the changes, the mode and the obligation,
often a most irksome one, of acquiesing in a course which he
considers open to objection, in order to prevent evils of yet
greater magnitude.
"You have it in your power to render the Province the inestim-
able service of depriving its accession to the principle of union
of that character of a party triumph, which it must otherwise
wear, and of those feelings of bitterness which snch a triumph
would engender."
Mr. Smith did not deny the assumption which this letter con-
tains and verbally acknowledged the terms in which he was
therein spoken of.
Having thus, therefore, as he presumed, ascertained that his
Council were not indisposed in their own way, and at their own
time, to recommend to the legislature the adoption of a union
policy, His Excellency felt that much forbearance was requisite
in order that this change of course might be accomplished in the
manner which the Council might think least injurious to them-
selves and most calculated to ensure the ultimate success of the
measure, and with this view, he sought to secure the co-opera-
tion of some of the leading friends of Confederation ordinarily
hostile to the government. In doing so it was His Excellency's
desire to strengthen the hands of his administration in the
conducting of a difficult enterprise, believing it to be of the
highest importance that this measure should not be carried as a
mere party triumph, but as the expression of a national wish ;
nor did he suppose that the course he then took could so be
misunderstood by those in whose interests it was taken. It is
true that Mr. Smith, and on one occasion one other member of
the government, remonstrated against this course, and Mr. Smith
observed that it was unnecessary, as he felt that he could carry
out his plan without any assistance from political opponents, an
assertion the correctness of which His Excellency at that time
felt disposed to question, and which, even if accurate, appeared
to him of doubtful policy, as it was desirable the union should
be accomplished in virtue of as general an agreement as possible
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 319
among the leading men of every political section in the commun-
ity, and His Excellency more than once suggested that the
principal advocates of Confederation should be called upon to
meet Mr. Smith and his collegues in order that a line of action
might be adopted by common consent on a question of such gen-
eral importance and with regard to which, now that the govern-
ment had adopted the principle of union, it seemed difficult to
believe that a common understanding might not be reached.
Upon the distinct understanding, therefore, that the govern-
ment was endeavoring to procure the passage through the legis-
lature of resolutions affirmative of the principle of union, and
with the impression that an address praying Her Majesty to
move the resolutions was to be subsequently adopted, His Ex-
cellency felt justified in omitting, at the request of the Council,
from his speech at the opening of the session the strong recom-
mendation of union which he intended to introduce, but the
responsibility for which his ministers felt they could not so
suddenly assume. To what extent the other members of the
Executive Council agreed with their president His Excellency
cannot say, as, except on a few occasions in February, he had
little communication with any of them on the subject, but His
Excellency is convinced that when Mr. Smith returned to
Fredericton on the 5th of March he imagined that he would be
able to carry out the pledges he had given and that he fully in-
tended to do so. Since the commencement of the session, how-
ever, the course of the government has shown little indication of
a movement in this direction.
His Excellency has never ceased to urge on Mr. Smith the
expediency and even the necessity of a bold avowal of his
intended policy, nor has he failed to express his apprehension as
to the consequence of delay in doing so, believing that until that
avowal was made Mr. Smith would become daily more and more
entangled in contradictory pledges, from which he would find it
impossible to extricate himself, and which might act most
prejudicially on the prospects of the cause, whilst at any time
circumstances might call for such action on the part of His Ex-
cellency as would place him in a position of apparent antagonism
to the Council and prove productive of very serious embarrass-
ment. This course, however, the government did not pursue, and
it became more and more clearly apparent to His Excellency
320 LIFE AND TIMES OF
that they lacked the power he will not say they lacked the will
to carry out their original intention. Their hostility to the
particular form of union agreed to at Quebec was distinct and
emphatic, whilst their approval of even an abstract union of an
indefinite character became daily more vague and uncertain.
Declarations were publicly made that no proposition for a union
would be made during the present session, and arguments were
used by members of the government and their supporters which
were not only unfavorable to the Quebec scheme but equally
directed against any plan of whatever description for a closer
union with Canada. On more than one occasion His Excellency
noticed these facts to Mr. Smith, who replied that the reports
received by His Excellency as to the language used were inac-
curate, that it was desirable not to indicate too soon the line he
meant to take, as it would give an advantage to his opponents
and might estrange some of his friends. In the desire to avoid
giving cause of embarrassment to the government, and at their
request, His Excellency delayed for nineteen days the reception
of the address of the Legislative Council in reply to the speech
from the throne, nor was it until it became evident to His Ex-
cellency that further delay in this respect would seriously imperil
the harmony of the relation between himself and the Legislative
Council and House of Assembly that he fixed a day for its recep-
tion. Mr. Smith frequently expressed a hope that the Lieutenant
Governor did not entertain any doubt as to the honesty of his
intention of carrying out to the letter the understanding between
them as to the passage of resolutions on the subject of union.
At length the presentation of the address to the Queen by the
Legislative Council brought the question to a decided issue. Up
to that time the government had given no public sign of an in-
tention to grapple with the question or to substitute any amended
scheme of union for that adopted at Quebec, and the Lieutenant
Governor, in accordance with his instructions as the representa-
tive of the Queen and as an officer of the Imperial Government,
could not but feel it his duty to express satisfaction at the approv-
al by one branch of the Provincial Legislature of the policy, the
adoption of which had been recommended by him in his
Sovereign's name and by her command at the commencement of
the session.
SIR LEONARD T1LLEY. 321
If the Lieutenant Governor's advisers cannot concur in these
sentiments, and decline to become responsible for their utterance
by His Excellency, it is no doubt their duty to tender, as they
have done, the resignation of the offices held by them. His
Excellency accepts those resignations with regret. His relations
with his advisers during the past year have been harmonious
and cordial ; for many among their number he entertains strong
feelings of personal esteem ; nor can he forget to acknowledge
the attention which his view^ have generally received at their
hands, or the readiness with which his wishes have on most
occasions been met by them, but he has no doubt as to the
course which it is his duty to pursue in obedience to his Sover-
eign's commands and in the interests of the people of British
North America. His Excellency may be in error, but he believes
that a vast change has already taken place in the opinions held
on the subject in New Brunswick. He fully anticipates that the
House of Assembly will yet return a response to the communi-
cation made to them, not less favorable to the principle of union
than that given by the upper house, and in any event he relies
with confidence on the desire of a great majority of the people of
the Province to aid in building up a powerful and prosperous
nation under the Sovereignly of the British Crown. To this
verdict His Excellency is perfectly ready to appeal.
His Excellency thinks it right, also, to state that his reply was
prepared by himself alone, and that the Council are in error in
supposing that its terms were the subject of advice from any
member of the opposition. His Excellency does not admit the
entire accuracy of Mr. Smith's reports of his conversation with
him appended to the minute of Council, but at the same time
readily acknowledges that the difference between his own
impression of these conversations and that of Mr. Smith, is
only such as might naturally arise under the circumstances.
Mr. Smith has, however, omitted to state that at his first inter-
view His Excellency pointed out, as he had frequently done
before, the embarrassing results of the non-avowal of his union
policy, and observed that the Legislative Council had now passed
an address, at the adoption of which he would probably feel
obliged to express satisfaction.
U
322 LIFE AND TIMES OF
This is a matter of infinitely less importance to the public, and
will be very shortly dealt with by His Excellency. Although
His Excellency has met at all times with the utmost courtesy
and consideration from the members of his government, it would
be a source of sincere regret to him to believe that he -was justly
liable to any imputation of such a nature. That a leading mem-
ber of the opposition was more than once communicated with
by His Excellency is perfectly true. This communication was
made with Mr. Smith's full knowledge, and in the belief on His
Excellency's part that it would facilitate Mr. Smith's accomplish-
ment of the end in view. Nor was it until a very late period
that his Excellency relinquished the hope of seeing a combina-
tion effected to smooth the passage of the contemplated resolutions.
Th Lieutenant Governor of course feels that previous
communications between himself and his advisers, as to any
step he is about to take, when practicable, both desirable and
convenient, and it was His Excellency's full intention to have
afforded the Council ample opportunity for the consideration of
his reply, and he much regrets that accident should have frus-
trated his intention. The committee of the Legislative Council
did not wait on His Excellency till about 12 o'clock, and until
that address was before him he could not officially communicate
with the Council on the subject of his reply. Immediately on
its reception he sent for Mr. Smith, intending to put the draft
reply into his hands and request him to communicate it to his
colleagues. Mr. Smith, however, appears not to have received
His Excellency's note until half past two o'clock. So strong was
His Excellency's wish that the contents of bis reply should be
known to the Council before its delivery, that when His Excel-
lency left the room, as stated by Mr. Smith, it was not as that
gentleman supposes to consult with a member of the opposition
respecting the omission or retention of a paragraph in his reply,
a point on which His Excellency received no advice from any
other person than Mr. Smith, but for the purpose of ascertaiuing
whether it might not even then be possible to postpone the
reception of the address for a few hours. He found, however,
that it would have been impossible to do so without gross dis-
courtsey to the Legislative Council.
[Signed] ARTHUR GORDOX.
Fredericton, April 12, 1866.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 323
The Lieutenant Governor called upon the Hon. Peter
Mitchell, who was a member of the Legislative Council,
to form a government. Mr. Mitchell had been very active
in the cause of Confederation, and was the moving spirit
in the Legislative Council in all the proceedings in favor
of Confederation in that body ; but when asked to form
a new government, he advised the Lieutenant Governor
that the proper person to undertake that responsibility
was the Hon. Mr. Tilley. The latter, however, declined
the task on the ground that he was not a member of the
Legislature, and then Mr. Mitchell associated with him-
self the Hon. Mr. Wilmot for the purpose of forming a
new government. The government was announced on
the 18th of April, and it was formed as follows : Hon.
Peter Mitchell, President of Council ; Hon. S. L. Tilley,
Provincial Secretary ; Hon. Charles Fisher, Attorney
General ; Hon. Edward Williston, Solicitor General ; Hon.
John McMillan, Post Master General ; Hon. A. R. Mc-
Clelan, Chief Commissioner of Public Works ; Hon. R.
i). Wilmot and Hon. Charles Council, members without
office. The latter afterwards became Surveyor General.
While this government was being formed in New
Brunswick a Fenian army was gathering upon the border
for the purpose of invading this Province. This force
consisted of four or five hundred young men, most of
whom had been in the army of the United States. It
was recruited at New York, and its chief was a Fenian
named Doram Killian. A part of his force arrived at
Eastport on the 10th of April, and a schooner laden with
324 LIFE AND TIMES OF
arms for the Fenians soon after reached that place. From
this schooner, which was afterwards seized by the United
States, one hundred and seventeen cases of arms and
ammunition were taken, a clear proof that the intentions
of the Fenians were warlike and that their presence on
the border was not a mere demonstration. The Fenians
appeared to have been under the impression, as many
residents of the United States are to this day, that the
people of Canada and of New Brunswick were dissatisfied
with their own form of government, and were anxious to
come under the protection of the stars and stripes. This
absurd idea was responsible largely for the war of 1812,
and it has been responsible since then for many other
demonstrations with respect to the British Provinces of
North America, in which residents of the United States
have taken part. There never was a greater delusion
than this, and in the instance referred to the Fenians
were doomed to be speedily undeceived. The presence
of a Fenian force on the border sounded like a bugle
blast to every able-bodied man in New Brunswick, and
the call for troops to defend the country was instantly
responded to. About one thousand men were called out
and marched to the frontier. The troops called out con-
sisted of the three Battalions of the New Brunswick
Regiment of Artillery, seven companies of the St. John
Volunteer Battalion, one company of the First Battalion
of the York County Militia, one company each of the
First and Third Battalions of the Charlotte County
Militia, and two companies each of the Second and Fourth
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 325
Battalions of the Charlotte County Militia. These troops
remained in arms on the frontier for nearly three months,
and were disembodied by general order dated the 20th of
June. The Fenian raid on New Brunswick proved to be
a complete fiasco. The frontier was so well guarded by
the New Brunswick Militia and by British soldiers, and
the St. Croix so thoroughly patroled by British warships
that the Fenians had no opportunity to make any im-
pression upon the Province. It ought to be added that
the United States government was prompt to take steps
to prevent any armed invasion, and General Meade was
sent down to Eastport with a force of infantry and a ship
of war to prevent the Fenians from making that place a
base of operations against these Provinces.
The general elections to decide whether or not New
Brunswick was willing to become confederated with
Canada were held in May and June. The first election
was that for the County of Northumberland, on the 25th
of May, and the result was that the four candidates who
favored Confederation, Messrs. Johnson, Sutton, Kerr and
Williston, were elected by large majorities. The same
result followed in the County of Carletou, where the
election was held on the 26th of May, Messrs. Connell
and Lindsay being elected by a vote of more than two to
one over their anti-Confederate opponents. The third
election was in Albert County on the 29th,and there Messrs.
McClelan and Lewis, the two candidates in favor of Con-
federation, were triumphantly returned. On the 13th day
of May, elections were held in Eestigouche and Suubury,
326 LIFE AND TIMES OF
and in these counties the candidates in favor of Confeder-
ation were returned by large majorities. The York
election came next. In that county the anti-Confederates
had placed a full ticket in the field, the candidates being
Messrs. Hatheway, Fraser, Needham and Brown. Mr.
Fisher had with him on the ticket Dr. Dow and Messrs,
Thompson and John A. Beck with. Every person ex-
pected a vigorous contest in York, notwithstanding the
victory of Mr. Fisher over Mr. Pickard a few months be-
fore. But to the amazement of the anti-Confederates in
other parts of the Provinces, the Hon. George L,
Hatheway and Dr. Brown, another anti-Confed-
erate candidate, retired after nomination day and
left Messrs. Fraser and Needham to do battle alone.
Mr. Hatheway's retirement at this time was a death
blow to the hopes of the anti-Confederates all over
New Brunswick, affecting not only the result in the
County of York, but in every other County in which an
election was to be held. A few nights before his resigna-
tion, Mr. Hatheway had been in St. John, addressing a
packed meeting of anti-Confederates in the hall of the
Mechanics' Institute, and he had spoken on that occasion
with all the insolence and apparent confidence which
were a part of his political stock in trade. When his
friends in St. John, who had been so much moved by his
vigorous eloquence, learned that he had deserted them,
their indignation was extreme, and they felt that matters
must indeed be in a bad way when this blatant and un-
principled demagogue did not dare to face the York
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 327
electors. The result was that in York, Messrs. Fraser
and Needham were simply snowed under, and the Con-
federate candidates elected by a vote of more
than two to one. The election in the County of St. John
was held on the 6th of June and that in the City on the
7th. For the County the Confederate candidates were
Messrs. C. N. Skinner, John H. Gray, James Quinton
and K. D. Wilmot, and the anti-Confederate candidates
were Messrs. Coram, Cudlip, Robertson and Anglin. The
former were elected by very large majorities, Mr. Wilinot
who stood lowest on the poll among the Confederates,
having a majority of 600 over Mr. Coram, who stood
highest among the defeated candidates. The election for
the City was an equally emphatic declaration in favor of
Confederation. The candidates were the Hon. S. L.
Tilley and A. E. Wetmore on the Confederate side, and
J. V. Troop and S. E. Thompson opposed to Confederation.
Mr. Tilley's majority over Mr. Troop, who stood highest
on the poll of the two defeated candidates, was 726. The
only Counties which the anti-Confederate party succeded
in carrying were Westmorland, Gloucester and Kent,
three counties in which the French vote was very large,
so that of the forty-one members returned only eight were
opponents of Confederation. The victory was as complete
as that which had been recorded against Confederation in
the beginning of 1865.
The battle of Confederation had been won, and the
triumph was largely due to the efforts of Hon. Mr. Tilley.
That, gentlemen, as soon as the defeat of Confederation
328 LIFE AND TIMES OF
took place in March, 1865, had commenced a campaign
for the purpose of educating the people on the subject of
Confederation. Being free from his official duties and
having plenty of time on his hands, he was able to devote
himself to the work of explaining the advantages of the
proposed union to the people of this Province ; and dur-
ing the years 1865 and 1866 he spoke in almost every
Bounty on the subject which was so near to his heart.
He had embraced Confederation with a sincere desire for
the benefit of his native Province, and with th* 1 belief
.that it would be of the greatest advantage to New Bruns-
wick. If the fruits of Confederation have not yet all
been realized that has been rather due to circumstances
over which neither Mr. Tilley nor anyone else had any
control, than to any inherent vice of Confederation itself.
If union is strength then it must be admitted that the
union of the British North American Provinces which
consolidated them into a powerful whole was a good
thing, and there cannot be a doubt that if the Provinces
had remained separate from each other their present
position would have been much less favorable than it
is now.
One of the great objects of Confederation was the
construction of the Intercolonial Eailway from St. John
and Halifax to Quebec. It was thought by our people
that there could be no real union between the several
Colonies of British North America unless a good means of
communication existed, and such a means was to be found
only in the construction of this line of railway. The In-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 329
tercolonial railway, as we have seen, had been a part of the
policy of successive governments in the Province for man}'
years, and it became an essential part of the scheme of
Confederation. When Confederation was accepted by the
people of New Brunswick in 1866, the Intercolonial Rail-
road had yet to be built. Western Extension, as the line
to the Maine border was called, had only been commenced;
Eastern extension, from Shediac line towards Halifax,
was in the same condition ; in fact the total mileage of
the railways in New Brunswick did not exceed 200, and
these lines were isolated from each other and formed no
pait of any complete system. New Brunswick now has
three separate lines of railway leading to Quebec and Mon-
treal ; it is connected with the great railway system of this
continent ; there is no county in the Province which has
not a line of railway traversing it ; and the mileage has
risen from less than two hundred to more than fourteen
hundred. If Confederation had produced no other fruits
than the increase of our railway facilities surely it must
be admitted to have been useful to this Province. Mr.
Tilley realized with the eyes of a statesman that the time
had come when the communities which form the British
Provinces of North America must either become politi-
cally connected with each other or else fall one by one be-
neath the influence of the United States. After Confeder-
ation had been brought about between Quebec, Ontario,
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, enough was seen in
the conduct of American statesmen towards Prince Ed-
ward Island to show that their design was to divide and
330 LIFE AND TIMES OF
conquer, and to try to create a separate interest in these
colonies apart from the general interest of Canada. The
acceptance of the scheme of Confederation by Prince Ed-
ward Island at a comparatively early period, put an end to
the plots in that quarter, but in the case of Newfoundland
the same thing has been repeated, and an attempt was
made by American statesmen to cause the people of that
Island to believe that their interests and those of Canada
are not identical, and that they would be favored by the
United States if they showed themselves hostile to the
great Dominion. The attitude of the people and Congress
of the United States towards Canada has generally been
one of hostility. They saw in Confederation an ar-
rangement that was likely to prevent this country from
ever becoming annexed to their own, and they believed
that by showing hostility to us with respect to the tariff
and other matters, and limiting the area of our commercial
relations, they could put such pressure upon Canada as
would compel our people to unite with them. This
scheme has failed because it was based on a mis*
conception of the spirit of our people, but who will say
that it would not have succeeded if the several
Provinces, which now form Confederation h'->.d been
disunited and unharmonious in their relations and pur-
sued different lines of policy ?
It is unfortunate that the reporting arrangements of
the newspapers during the campaign of Confederation
have made it impossible to reproduce any of Mr. Tilley's
speeches during that eventful time. No Speaker that
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 331
New Brunswick has ever produced has been more gen-
erally acceptable than was Mr. Tilley, his speeches being
pointed and addressing themselves to his hearers in such
a clear fashion that they really could jnot be misunder-
stood. Mr. Tilley possessed to a very large extent that
magnetism which enabled him to retain the attention and
awaken the sympathy of his audiences. At all the meet-
ings which he addressed there were many who regarded
themselves always as his friends and supporters and who
formed a phalanx around him, giving him a confidence
and political strength which few statesmen have ever
enjoyed to a like extent. Although his addresses fre-
quently provoked the bitter animosity of his enemies he
had always enough friends to counteract their influence,
and during the many contests which he had to fight for
his seat in the city of St. John he was always able to rely
on the loyalty of those who were his early associates and
who remained his supporters until the end of his career.
It is quite safe to assert that Confederation could not
have been carried out had it not been for the personal
efforts of Mr. Tilley. As the leader of the government,
which had consented to the Quebec scheme, he was
properly looked upon as the chief promoter of Confeder-
ation in New Brunswick, and his name will go down to
future generations identified with that large and neces-
sary measure of Colonial statesmanship.
After the elections were over and Confederation had
been carried, the "Morning Telegraph" of St. John, which
had been an ardent supporter of the scheme, made up a
332 LIFE AND TIMES OF
statement which showed that 55,665 votes had been cast
throughout the Province for candidates in favor of Con-
federation, while only 33,767 votes had been cast against
it. That was a sufficiently emphatic endorsement of the
scheme of union, and it was accepted as a proof that the
people of New Brunswick ardently desired the consti-
tutional change which a union with Canada would in-
volve. But although the vote had been taken on the
question, much remained to be done before Confederation
could become an accomplished fact. The last elections,
which were those of Kings and Charlotte, were held on
the 12th of June, but more than a year was to elapse be-
fore the union was effected and the result which the
election was intended to bring about realized. The first
thing to be done was to call the Legislature together and
complete the business of the Province, which had been
interrupted by the dissolution. The Legislature met on
the 21st of June and the Hon. John H. Gray, who had
been an active advocate of Confederation, and who was
one of the members for the County of St. John, was
made speaker. In the speech from the throne the fol-
lowing reference was made to the question of Confeder-
ation;
" The address of the Legislative Council to Her Majesty
the Queen, on the subject of the union of the British
North American Provinces, agreed to during the late ses-
sion, was duly transmitted by me to England to be laid
at the foot of the throne, and I am commanded to inform
you, Her Majesty has been pleased to accept the same
SIR LEONARD TILEY. 333
very graciously. The adoption and the reception by me
for transmission to Her Majesty of this address led to
events which rendered it, in my opinion, expedient to dis-
solve the then existing General Assembly. I have now
much satisfaction in resorting to your assistance and co-
operation at the earliest possible moment, although I regret
that it should be necessary to call you together at a
period of the year which must, I fear, render your as-
sembling a matter of much personal inconvenience to
some of you.
" Her Majesty's government have already expressed
their strong and deliberate opinions that the union of the
British North American Provinces under one government
is an object much to be desired. The Legislatures oi
Canada and Nova Scotia have formed the same judgment,
and you will now shortly be invited to express your con-
currence with or dissent from the view taken of this great
question by those Provinces.
" The question which you are now called together
especially to consider is one of the most momentous ever
submitted to a Colonial Legislature."
In the address in answer to the speech from the
throne the following reference was made to the question:
" It is satisfactory to learn that the adoption and re-
ception by Your Excellency of the address led to events
which rendered it expedient to dissolve the then existing
General Assembly and most gratifying to believe that the
country has sustained that conclusion, and, although we
unite with Your Excellency in regretting that it should
334 LIFE AND TIMES OF
have been necessary to call the Assembly together at a
season that may cause personal inconvenience to some of
us, we rejoice to have the opportunity of aiding by our
counsel and co-operation in the consummation of those
national objects which have led to our meeting.
" We learn with satisfaction that Her Majesty's govern-
ment, having already expressed their strong and deliberate
conviction that the union of the British Provinces under
one government is an object much to be desired, and that
the Legislatures of Canada and Nova Scotia having passed
the same judgment, we will shortly be called upon to ex-
press our concurrence with or dissent from the view taken
of this question by those Provinces, and we confidently
look forward to a similar decision here."
This address was moved by Mr. Kerr, of Northumber-
land, and seconded by Mr. Beveridge of Victoria,
and its consideration was made the order of the
day for the following Saturday. When it came
up for discussion the Hon. Albert J. Smith was not in
his place, and Mr. Botsford, one of his colleagues from
Westmorland, endeavored to have the consideration of
the matter postponed, but the House was in no humor to
await the convenience of any single member, and the
address was passed the same day by a vote of thirty to
seven. Mr. Tilley's name was not recorded in this
division, because he had to leave for St. John on public
business ; the other absentees were Messrs. Smith and
Skinner. Attorney General Fisher, immediately on the
passage of the address, gave notice of the Confederation
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 335
resolution, which was to be made the order of the day for
Monday, June 26th. This resolution was in the follow-
ing terms :
" Resolved, That an humble address be presented to
His Excellency, the Lieutenant Governor, praying that
His Excellency be pleased to appoint delegates to unite
with delegates from the other Provinces, in arranging
with the Imperial Government for the union of British
North America, upon such terms as will secure the just
rights and interests of New Brunswick, accompanied with
provision for the immediate construction of the Inter-
colonial Eailway ; each Province to have an equal voice
in such delegation, Upper and Lower Canada to be con-
sidered as separate Provinces."
On that day Mr. Fisher moved the resolution in ques-
tion in a very brief speech, and was replied to by Hon.
Mr. Smith, who spoke at great length and continued his
speech on the following day. Mr. Smith took exception
to giving delegates power to fix the destinies of the
Provinces forever, without again submitting the scheme
of union to the people. He proceeded to discuss the
Quebec scheme, but took exception to the construction of
the upper House of the proposed legislature of the Con-
federation, declaring that each Province should have an
equal number of representatives in it, as was the case in
the United States. After going over the ground pretty
thoroughly and criticising most of the terms of the scheme
of Confederation, he moved an amendment to the effect
that no act or measure for a union with Canada take
336 LIFE AIsD TIMES OF
effect until approved by the Legislature or the people of
this Province.
The Hon. Mr. Tilley replied to the leader of
the opposition in one of the most effective speeches
that he ever delivered in the Legislature. He
first took up Mr. Smith's allusion to the constitutional
question, and, with immense .power and solemnity, he
charged that any want of constitutional action which
existed was due to Mr. Smith and his colleagues. He
stated that the Governor's sympathies were with the late
government, and that he had endeavored to aid
~ *
and not to injure them. Mr. Smith had alluded to
the Hon. Joseph Howe, who was then an opponent of
Confederation, in terms of praise, and Mr. Tilley in reply
read from Mr. Howe's speech, made in 1861, a magnifi-
cent paragraph on the union of British America. Mr.
Tilley stated that the government would take the Quebec
scheme for a basis, and would seek concessions to meet
the views of those who found difficulty as to parts of it.
He went over the Counties of the Province to show that
they were either for the Quebec scheme or substantially
for it. He was convinced that even his friend, the ex-
Attorney-General and member for Westmorland, was
hardly against union. He asked, Was there one anti-
unionist on the floors of the House ? Where was Mr.
Anglin ? Mr. Needham ? Mr. Hill and all the rest of
the anti-unionists ? They were all swept away and
unionists had taken their places, and when the arrange-
ments for union were carried out, the feeling in its favor
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 337
would be deeper and deeper. Mr. Tilley showed the
great advantages which would accrue to New Brunswick
eventually in consequence of Confederation. He corn-
batted the statement made by Mr. Smith that after Con-
federation the Provincial Legislature would become a
mere farce, showing that of all the Acts passed during
the previous two years there were only seven which
would have come under the control of the general Legis-
lature. Mr. Tilley closed by dwelling on the impression
of power which union would have on the minds of those
abroad who were plotting our ruin. The speech was
listened to with the utmost attention by the members of
the Legislature and by a very large audience, which com-
pletely filled the galleries, and it was generally considered
to have been one of his greatest efforts.
Quite a sensation was created by the speech delivered
by Mr. Charles N. Skinner, one of the members elected
for the County of St. John as a supporter of Confedera-
tion. Mr. Skinner took the position that the govern-
ment did wrong in introducing a bald resolution, and
showing an unwillingness to take the suggestions of the
House as to what kind of a scheme the country wanted.
He believed it was the duty of the representatives to
deliberate upon this question, and give the delegates
instruction as to what they desired. The position taken
by the government was that the House had better not say
anything about what they or the country wanted, but
clothe the delegates with power to do as they pleased
irrevocably, and give them no instructions. This he
338 LIFE AND TIMES OF
deplored in strong language. The country, he said, had
not elected the men in favor of Confederation to be mere
automatons, to move as they were moved, and to say only
such words as should be put into their mouths. He
thought on a question of such vast importance as this
the fullest deliberation should be had. He would not tie
the delegates down to the letter of their instructions. He
would leave them a margin to go and come upon. He
also complained that the House did not know the nurn-
ber^of delegates that were to be sent, neither did they
know who the delegates were to be. He said unless the
men who were going on this mission were men of great
ability and integrity he would lack confidence in them.
There were men in the Legislature and government that
he would trust with this great responsibility, but there
were others whom he would not. He then proceeded to
show that while he was dissatisfied at the manner the
government were pushing the question before the House,
he still would vote for the resolution, because the policy
of the government, although to his mind a wrong policy,
was the only policy before the country on the question
of Confederation, and to vote against the resolution and
with Mr. Smith's amendment was to vote against Con-
federation altogether. He would vote for the reso-
lution and hold the government responsible for their
conduct in bringing the matter down as they did. He
then proceeded to enlarge upon the Quebec scheme ; he
made several objections to it and reasoned them out. He
said he made the objections that the delegates might know
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 339
what his opinions were, and, if they were worth anything,
they might profit by them. His speech was said to be
the best he ever delivered in the House, and was listened
to with marked attention, scarcely a member leaving his
seat while he was speaking. The resolution was finally
carried by a vote of 30 to 8, Mr. Glazier, of Sunbury,
and Mr. W. P. Flewelling, of Kings, both of whom would
have voted for the resolution, being absent. As soon as
the Confederation resolution was passed the Hon. A. J.
Smith moved a resolution which, after reciting the steps
which had already been taken in favor of union with
Canada, continued as follows :
" Therefore resolved, As the deliberate opinion of
this House is that no measure for such union should be
adopted which did not contain the following provisions,
viz. : 1st An equal number of Legislative councillors
for each Province ; 2nd Such Legislative councillors to
be required to reside in the Province which they repre-
sent and for which they are appointed ; 3rd The num-
ber of representatives in the Federal Parliament to be
limited; 4th The establishment of a court for the de-
termination of questions and disputes that may arise
between the Federal and Local governments as to the
meaning of the act of union ; 5th Exemption of this
Province from taxation for the construction and enlarge-
ment of canals in Upper Canada, and for the payment of
money for the mines and minerals and lands of New-
foundland; 6th Eighty cents per head to be on the
population as it increases and not to be confined to the
340 LIFE AND TIMES OF
census of 1861 ; 7th Securing to the Maritime Prov-
inces the right to have at least one executive councillor
in the Federal Parliament ; 8th The commencing of
the Intercolonial Railroad before the right shall exist to
increase taxation upon the people of the Province."
Mr. Smith supported his resolution in a lengthy speech
in which he predicted increased taxation as the result of
Confederation. He said that the House, instead of being
a deliberative assembly, had to surrender its judgment to
the government. Confederation was a great experiment
at best and called for the exercise of other men's judg-
ment. The government was going on in the most high-
handed manner and were not justified in withholding
information asked for. He elaborated the idea that Can-
ada, was pledged to issue treasury notes to pay present
liabilities, and asserted that the government was alto-
gether under the control of Canadian politicians. He
insisted particularly on a provision in the Act of Union
that each of the Maritime Provinces have an executive
councillor in the Federal government. Finally the vote
was taken and the following amendment, which had been
moved by Hon. Mr. Fisher, was carried, only eight
members voting against it :
" Resolved, That the people of this Province having,
after due deliberation, determined that the union of
British North America was desirable, and the House,
having agreed to request His Excellency the Lieutenant
Governor to appoint delegates for the purpose of consid-
ering the plan of union upon such terms as will secure
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 341
the just rights of New Brunswick, and having confidence
that the action of His Excellency under the advice of his
constitutional advisers will be directed to the attainment
of that end, sound policy and a due regard to the interests
of this Province require that the responsibility of such
action should be left unfettered by an expression of
opinion other than what has already been given by the
people and their representatives."
This ended the battle for Confederation in New Bruns-
wick, for what remained to be done was merely the
arrangement of the details of the union by the delegates
who had received full power for that purpose. The
session of the Legislature, which must be considered one
of the most important ever held in New Brunswick, came
to a close on Monday, the 7th of July. At a meeting of
the government held immediately after the prorogation
of the. Legislature, the Hon. Messrs. Tilley.Wilmot, Fisher,
Mitchell, Johnson and Chandler were appointed to go to
England as delegates, for the purpose of meeting delegates
from Canada and Nova Scotia, and arranging the bill
which was to be passed by the Imperial Parliament for
the consummation of Confederation. It was understood
at that time that there would be no delay on the part of
the delegates from Canada, but owing to causes which
perhaps are a little obscure, Sir John A. Macdonald and
the other Canadian delegates were unable to leave at the
time appointed, and did not meet our delegation in Eng-
land until many months after the latter had arrived
there. This unfortunate circumstance produced much
342 LIFE AND TIMES OF
comment at the time, because it looked as if the govern-
ment of Canada was treating the delegates of New Bruns-
wick and Nova Scotia with gross discourtesy. The
business, instead of being completed promptly, as was
expected, and the bill passed by the Parliament during
the autumn session, was thrown over until the following
year, and our delegates, most of whom were prominent
members of the government, had to remain in England
for about ten months at great expense and inconvenience.
It has been stated that the ill health of Sir John A,
Macdonald was responsible for that condition of affairs,
he being subject at that time to attacks of indisposition
which prevented him from attending to his duties as a
Minister of the Crown. Whatever the cause of .the
trouble it was a very unfortunate beginning, and but for
the good sense and moderation displayed by the represen-
tatives of the Maritime Provinces, might have greatly
prejudiced the movement in favor of Confederation.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 343
CHAPTER XI.
The delegates from the three Provinces, Canada, Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick, met at the Westminster
Palace hotel, London, in November, 1866, Hon. John A.
Macdonald in the chair ; C. W. Bernard acting as Secre-
tary. The resolutions passed at the Quebec Conference
held in 1864, were read, and amendments were moved in
accordance with the suggestions made in the several Legis-
latures during the discussions at the previous sessions. It
was conceded on all hands that the Intercolonial Eailway,
by which facilities for interprovincial commercial inter-
course could be secured, must be built by the united
Provinces and without a delay. It was also conceded that
in the Provinces where separate schools were established
by law, that principle should not be disturbed. Mr. Gait
was the special advocate of this concession from the Prov-
ince of Quebec, and the Roman Catholic members of the
convention on behalf of the minority in Canada West.
In the discussion it was claimed that the sole right of im-
posing an export duty should be vested in the Federal
authority. This was objected to by the New Brunswick
delegates, as the people of that Province had expended a
large sum of money in the improving of the navigation
of the upper St. John, and had, to recoup themselves,
344 LIFE AND TIMES OF
imposed an export duty on lumber shipped from the Pro-
vinces. A considerable portion of the income thus re-
ceived was paid by the lumbermen of the State of Maine,
the advantage derived by them from such improvements
being very great. The claim thus presented by the New
Brunswick delegates was conceded and the Province per-
mitted to retain the right. This right was abandoned
since Confederation, the Dominion paying therefor $150,-
000 per annum to the New Brunswick government. Up
to the present time no export duty on lumber going from
New Brunswick has been demanded since the passage
of this last legislation.
During the sitting of the delegates, which extended to
over a period of two months, many conferences were held
with Lord Carnarvon, then Secretary of State for the
Colonies, and the law officers of the Crown in regard to
objections which were taken to some of the resolutions
adopted by the delegates. Valuable assistance was
rendered during this Conference by Lord Monk, who
was then in London, but who was Governor General of
Canada when the Conference was held at Quebec. The
arrangements there made in regard to the strengthening of
the central authority as compared with the constitution
of the United States, the result of the experience of that
country during the rebellion, were adhered to in the Lon-
don resolutions and accepted by the Imperial authorities.
When the bill reached Parliament some amendments were
suggested, but when it was pointed out that the bill as
presented was the result of the most careful consider-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 345
ation of both the Imperial authorities and the Colonial
representatives, the suggested amendments were not
pressed and the measure passed through Parliament with
very little discussion. But one spirit seemed to animate
both the Imperial authorities and the members of Parlia-
ment and that was to give the Provinces interested the
fullest liberty consistent with the new relations they were
about assuming. The Parliamentary opposition to the
measure was much less than might have been expected
when it is remembered that the opponents of Confedera-
tion had representatives in London, well able to present
objections from their standpoint, who had the ear of Mr.
Bright and other members of Parliament. Her Majesty
took a deep interest in the measure when before Parlia-
ment, and expressed that interest to members of the de-
legation, adding that she felt a great affection for her
Canadian subjects, they being so loyal. While the bill
was before the House of Lords Messrs. Macdonald,
Cartier, Gait, Tupper and Tilley, were honored by a
private presentation to her Majesty, at Buckingham
Palace. Later on all the members of the Conference were
presented at a drawing room at the same place.
The New Brunswick delegates returned to England in
the spring of 1867, having completed their labors, and
the Legislature was called together on the 8th of May.
The business before it was of great importance, for the
Province was entering upon a new era as a member of
the Canadian Confederation, and the Legislature was
about to lose a portion of its powers which were delegated
346 LIFE AND TIMES OF
to the Federal Parliament. It is not, however, necessary
to enter into any details of the work of the session which
was done without any particular difficulty, the opposition
being too weak to oppose seriously the measures of the
government. It was felt on all sides that as twelve
members of the Legislative Council were about to be-
come members of the Senate of Canada, and as fifteen re-
presentatives were to be elected to the House of Commons,
most of whom would come from the House of Assembly,
a striking change would take place in the composition of
the Legislature, which would be deprived of the services
at once of a large number of its ablest men. One of the
important bills of the session was the passage of the Act
establishing County Courts in the Province, and in respect
to this measure a difference of opinion took place between
Mr. John M. Johnson, one of the delegates, and member
for Northumberland, and his fellow delegates to England.
He thought that the Legislature had no authority under
the terms of Confederation, or from any understanding
between the delegates while in England, to create County
Courts, while the other delegates held a different view.
The Act was passed, however, and has proved to be one
of the most useful ever placed upon the statute book,
relieving the Supreme Court of many cases, both civil and
criminal, which would otherwise block its business, and
enabling them to be disposed of more rapidly than before.
The County Court judges appointed under this Act were,
with one exception, members of the Legislature, and this
made another serious drain upon its experienced members.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 347
During the last session of the old New Brunswick
Legislature, measures were also taken to secure the com-
pletion of the line of railway from St. John to the border
of Maine, generally known as the Western Extension.
The government of New Brunswick, which had already
given a subsidy of ten thousand dollars a mile to the
enterprise under the Act passed in 1863, agreed to take
three hundred thousand dollars worth of the stock of the
road. Under the stimulus of this additional subsidy the
work rapidly advanced and railroad connection between
St. John and Bangor, where it joined the American sys-
tem of railroads, was established. The Legislature pro-
rogued on the 17th day of June, thus bringing to an end
the old independent Legislature of the Province which
had done its work for so many years, to be replaced by a
Legislature, shorn of a considerable part of its powers, but
still efficient for good or evil because of its ability to pass
laws profoundly affecting the material and moral welfare
of the Province. Many men looked upon this dissolution
of old ties with something like sadness, but to others it
appeared like the dawning of a better day for the Prov-
ince of New Brunswick as well as for the other Prov-
inces of British North America.
The British North America Act, by which the Pro-
vinces of Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia were bound into a Confederation, came into
force by royal proclamation on the first day of July, 1867.
When it is considered how vast and vital a change this
measure brought about it is surprising that it produced
348 LIFE AND TIMES OF
so little excitement anywhere. With the exception of
one or two demonstrations which were made with flags
by persons hostile to Confederation, in the Province of
New Brunswick, which had been so much excited
during two elections, it was received with perfect calm-
ness, and although for some years afterwards there were
always a number of persons opposed to union who pre-
dicted direful things from Confederation and thought it
must finally be dissolved, the voices of such persons were
finally silenced either by death or by acquiescence in the
situation. Now it may be safely declared that the
Canadian Confederation stands upon as secure a founda-
tion as any other government in the civilized world, and
is much less likely to break in pieces than the great re-
public to the south of us, where differences of climate and
of products and resources seem to have created separate
interests, which to an outside observer appear able to
threaten the stability of the nation.
In June, 1867. the Hon. John A. Macdonald, then
leader of the government of Canada, was encrusted by
Lord Monk, then Governor General, with the formation
of a ministry for the Dominion. Mr. Macdonald natur-
ally experienced a good deal of difficulty in making his
arrangements. In the formation of the first ministry
much care was necessary ; provincial and national inter-
ests were to be thought of and denominational claims had
to receive some attention. But the greatest difficulty arose
with respect to old party lines. Mr. Macdonald consid-
ered that to a considerable extent old party lines could
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 349
not be recognized, and selected his men from the leading
advocates of Confederation belonging to both the Con-
servative and Liberal parties, and acting upon this sug-
gestion, named seven Conservatives and six Liberals.
The Liberals included the names of Mr. Rowland and
Mr. McDougal for Ontario. A large number of the
Liberals of Ontario, including George Brown and Alex.
Mackenzie, opposed this arrangement, called a public
meeting in Toronto and passed resolutions in favor of a
strictly party government on old lines. It declared hos-
tility to the proposal for a coalition and resolved to oppose
Messrs. Howland and Mr. McDougal should they accept
office under Mr. Macdonald when they returned to their
constituents. This decision was carried out, but both
Mr. Howland and Mr. McDougal were returned with
good majorities. In this first ministry there were five
members from Ontario: John A. Macdonald, William
McDougal, W. P. Howland, A. J. F. Blair and Alex.
Campbell ; four from Quebec : Messrs. George E. Carder,
Alex. T. Gait, J. C. Chapais and Hector L. Langevin ;
two from Nova Scotia : Adams G. Archibald and Edward
Kenny ; and two from New Brunswick : S. L. Tilley and
Peter Mitchell. Nine of the members were Protestants
and four were Eoman Catholics.
The wisdom of the course adopted will be apparent
when it is remembered that the question of Confederation
was not settled or carried on old party lines, some of the
Conservatives opposing and some Liberals supporting it.
This was clearly the case in New Brunswick, as shown
350 LIFE AND TIMES OF
by the last two elections held here. About one-third of
the Liberal party and a like proportion of the Conserva-
tive party opposed Confederation at the second election.
To have formed the first government on old party lines
would have necessitated the selection of some men who
were opposed to the union, and whose efforts might not
have been devoted to making it a success. The name of
Liberal-Conservative was given to the new party, com-
posed, as it was, of men of both parties.
The first Confederation ministry was a very strong
one. The Hon. John A. Macdonald became Premier and
Minister of Justice ; the Hon. George E. Cartier was
Minister of Militia and Defence ; Alexander T. Gait was
Minister of Finance ; the Hon. William McDougal was
Minister of Public Works ; Hon. W. P. Howland was
Minister of Inland Revenue ; Hon. A. J. F. Blair, Presi-
dent of the Privy Council ; Hon. Alex. Campbell, Post
Master General ; Hon. J. C. Chapais, Minister of Agri-
culture ; Hon. Hector L. Langevin, Secretary of State.
Mr. Tilley became Minister of Customs and Mr. Mitchell
became Minister of Marine and Fisheries, while the two
Nova Scotia representatives, Messrs. Archibald and
Kenny, became respectively Secretary of State for the
Provinces and Receiver General.
It will thus be seen that the Maritime Provinces had
four representatives of the Crown out of thirteen mem-
bers of the Cabinet, and this proportion has generally
been maintained since that time, so that the fears of those
who anticipated that the Provinces by the sea would not
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 351
receive fair treatment in the distribution of high offices
have proved to be groundless. So far has this been
from being the case that the Maritime Province mem-
bers of the government appear always to have occu-
pied a very influential position in it, and the late
lamented Premier was a representative of the Maritime
Provinces, while the highly important office of Minister of
Finance is also held by a Maritime representative.
The office of Minister of Customs, which Mr. Tilley
received, was thought by some of his friends to be less
important than he deserved, they being of the opinion
that he should have been made Minister of Finance.
This office, however, went to Mr. Gait, who, owing to a
difference with the rest of the government, resigned four
months later, his place in the Cabinet being taken by Sir
John Kose, who held the office of Finance Minister until
October, 1869, Sir Francis Hincks then receiving the ap-
pointment. It was not until the resignation of the latter
in February, 1873, that Mr. Tilley became Minister of
Finance. The office to which he was appointed, however,
was one of great importance, involving as it did the re-
organization of the entire establishment of the Customs of
Canada, and it gave ample scope for his great ability as a
business man.
The elections for the House of Commons in the new
Parliament of Canada took place in August, the Hon.
Mr. Tilley being chosen to represent the City of St. John,
and the Hon. John H. Gray the County. It had been
expected that in view of the fact that these men
352 LIFE AND TIMES OF
had been so largely instrumental in bringing about
Confederation they would have been allowed to walk the
course unopposed. This was the case with Mr. Gray,
whose candidature met with no opposition; but Mr. Til-
ley was opposed by Mr. John Wilson, who received a
very small vote. This needless and futile opposition to
the candidature of a man who deserved so well from the
Province, was merely one of the proofs of the existence
of political rancor in the breasts of those who had been
defeated on the Confederation question. *
The first Parliament of United Canada met on the 6th
of November 1867, and the address was moved by the
Hon. Charles Fisher, who had been elected to represent
the County of York. The session was a very long one,
lasting until the 22nd of May of the following year ; but
there was an adjournment, extending from December 21st,
to the 20th March. This meeting of Parliament was the
most memorable ever held in Canada, because it brought
together for the first time, the representatives of all the
Provinces, and the ablest men of all .political parties.
The people of Ontario and Quebec were little known to the
people of the Maritime Provinces, and those who resided
in the larger Provinces naturally enough knew compari-
tively little of their fellow-subjects who dwelt by the
sea, and had become members of the new Confederation.
It was expected by some ,that our Maritime Province
representatives would be completely overshadowed by
men of greater political reputation who dwelt in the
larger Provinces, but this did not prove to be the case.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 363
The Maritime representatives at once took a leading posi-
tion in Parliament, and this position they have steadily
maintained down to the present time. No man stood
better in the House of Commons than the representative
from St. John, the Hon. S. L. Tilley. At that time Her
Majesty the Queen, in acknowledgment of his services in
the cause of Confederation, had created him a Companion
of the Bath, a distinction which was also given to the
Hon. Charles Tupper, of Nova Scotia.
A vast amount of business had to be disposed of at
the first session of the Parliament of Canada. Although
the Union Act embodied the plan upon which Confeder-
ation was founded, it was necessary to supplement it by
a great deal of other legislation, for the purpose of inter-
preting it and making preparations for the practical
working of the constitution. In all the discussions rela-
tive to the necessary legislation which had to be passed
at that time, Mr. Tilley took a prominent part, and, when
the session was over, he had established in the House of
Commons, as fully as he had in the Legislature of New
Brunswick, a reputation for ability as a speaker and as a
man of affairs. He was looked upon as one whose wide
knowledge of the needs of the Province and whose experi-
ence in departmental work were likely to be of the
greatest use to the Confederation. His high character at
all times gave a weight to his words and caused him to
be listened to with the most respectful attention. During
the whole period that Mr. Tilley sat in the House of
Commons he had the pleasure of knowing that even his
w
354 LIFE AND TIMES OF
political enemies respected his character and attainments,
and with the exception of the Premier, perhaps no man
wielded a more potent influence in the councils of the
Dominion than he. It is not intended in this publication
to trace to any full extent the career of Sir S. L. Tilley
in the Parliament of Canada ; that belongs rather to the
history of the Dominion than to a work of the limited
scope of the present volume, and only so much of his
public life in the House of Commons will be dealt with
as seems necessary to complete the story of his personal
history. Mr. Tilley continued to hold the position of
Minister of Customs during the whole of the term of the
first Parliament of Canada. This Parliament held five
sessions and dissolved in the summer of 1872, the general
election being in the month of July, upon -which occasion
Mr. Tilley was re-elected for the City of St. John without
opposition.
The second Parliament met on the 5th of March, 1873.
But eleven days before that time Mr. Tilley had become
Minister of Finance, succeeding Sir Francis Hincks, who
resigned after holding the office of Finance Minister for
more than three years. The advancement of Mr. Tilley
to this responsible and influential position was very
pleasing to his friends, and was received with great satis-
faction by the country generally.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 355
CHAPTER XII.
The first Confederation ministry of Canada resigned
office on the 5th November, 1873. The circumstances
which led to that action are a part of the political history
of the Dominion and need not be gone into in this volume.
With regard to Mr. Tilley it is sufficient to say that
whatever basis there may have been for charges of cor-
ruption in connection with the Pacific scandal against
other persons in the government, none were ever preferred
against him, and no one suspected or believed that he
had anything whatever to do with the transactions with
Sir Hugh Allan and his associates which led to the
government being compelled to resign. Prior to the
resignation of the government Mr. Tilley had been
appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Province of New
Brunswick in succession of the Hon. Lemuel A. Wilmot,
whose term had expired. Every one felt that the honor
thus bestowed upon Mr. Tilley was a most fitting one,
for he was New Brunswick's foremost son in political life,
and had reached his high position purely through his own
ability and his own good character. However much
people may have differed in regard to Mr. Tilley's
political views, there has never been any difference of
opinion in regard to his acceptability as the Governor of
366 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the Province. He filled that high position a greater
number of years than any of his successors are likely to
do, and it is admitted on all sides that no man could
have performed the duties of that high office better than
he has done.
Mr. Tilley took up his residence in the old government
house, Fredericton, and he must have been struck with
the changed aspect of affairs from that which existed
under the old regime, when our Lieutenant Governors
were appointed by the British Government and sent out
from England to preside over the councils of a people of
whom they knew little or nothing. Many of these former
Governors had been military men and were more
accustomed to habits of command than to deal with per-
plexing questions of frtate government. They looked
with a very natural degree of impatience on the attempts
which the people of the Province were making to get the
full control of their own affairs. Under the old regime
the Governor was surrounded with military guards;
sentries paced the walks and stood at the entrances of the
government house, and a vast amount of ceremony had
to be gone through with before any one could see the
distinguished occupant of that building* Government
house, under the old system, had been the scene of many
festivities, not always distinguished by their sobriety, and
strange stories are told of many, high in New Brunswick
political life, who had drunk overmuch at the dinner-table
of the Governor. All this was now to be changed. The
Hon. Lemuel A. Wilmot, although a life-long temperance
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 357
man a ad total abstainer, had kept up the old customs with
respect to the use of liquor in government house, and
thereby incurred no small amount of adverse criticism
from those who thought he should have discouraged the
use of wine and other intoxicating beverages. The
temperance views of Mr. Tilley were of a more consistent
order, and he carried out, in practice at government house,
those principles of total abstinence which had dis-
tinguished him throughout his entire career. So long as
he was Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick no
intoxicating beverages of any kind were ever used at his
table. Some of the old-time frequenters of government
house were at first inclined to object to this change in its
customs, but the general voice of the people of the Prov-
ince was in favor of the change, and it was felt that in
acting as he did the Lieutenant Governor had merely
given another proof of his consistency as a man and of
his attachment to those principles which he had embraced
so early in life. The withdrawal of the British troops
from Canada before the Lieutenant Governorship of Mr.
Tilley commenced relieved him of any embarrassment in
regard to dispensing with military guards and sentries,
but all pretentious accompaniments of authority were
very foreign to his nature, and he always showed, by the
severe simplicity of his life, that he felt he was one*
of the people, and that it was his duty as 'well as his
pleasure to permit all who had any reason to see him to
have free access to him, without the necessity of going
through any formal process.
When Mr. Tilley became Lieutenant Governor of the
Province, he was fifty-five years of age, and he seems to
358 LIFE AND TIMES OF
have thought that his political career was ended because,
by the time his term of office expired in its natural course,
he would have reached the age of sixty, a period of life
when a man is not likely to make a new entrance into
public life. But circumstances, quite outside of any
desire on his part, made it almost necessary for him to
change his determination, and during the summer of 1878,
when the general election was imminent, he found himself
pressed by his old political friends to once more become
the candidate of his party, for his old constituency in the
City of St. John. There was great enthusiasm amongst
them when it was announced that he would comply with
their wishes and that he had resigned the Lieutenant
Governorship. The result of that general election is well
known. The Liberal party, -which had succeeded to the
government less than five years before, with a large
majority in the House of Commons, experienced a severe
defeat, and the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, seeing this,
very properly did not await the assembling of Parliament,
but, like the honest man that he was, sent in the resigna-
tion of the ministry, and Sir John A. Macdonald was
called upon to form a new government. In the cabinet
thus constructed Mr. Tilley resumed his old office of
Minister of Finance, and one of his first duties was to
assist in the framing of a new tariff which was to be
formed in accordance with the principles upon which the
election had been run, of protection to home industries.
This idea of protection had not been heard of in the
Canadian Confederation as the policy of any political
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 359
party until Sir John A. Macdonald took it up about a year
before the general election, but it proved a winning card
and was the means of giving the new government a long
lease of power. Mr. Tilley's views regarding the tariff
and the needs of Canada, were given very fully in his
budget speech, which was delivered in February, 1879,
and the following extracts from it will convey to the
reader a clearer idea of them than any mere recital :
" Mr. Chairman, it is only recently, Sir, that I have
fully realized the great changes that have taken place
throughout the Dominion of Canada since I last had the
honor of a seat in Parliament, and, to-day, I fully realize
the great change that has taken place, and the increased
difficulties devolving upon me, as Finance Minister,
compared with the position of affairs when I submitted
my financial statement in 1873. Then, Sir, my work
was a very easy one indeed. Honorable members on the
opposite benches were pleased, on that occassion, to
compliment me on that statement, but I felt that I had
earned no compliment ; that if that speech was acceptable
to the House at that time, it was because of the satisfac-
tory statements I was able to make with reference to the
condition of the Dominion and of the finances of the
Dominion. Then, Sir, I was able to point to steady and
increasing surplus and revenue, and that in the face of
a steady reduction of taxation. Then, Sir, I was able to
point, with some degree of confidence, to the prospective
expenditures of the Dominion, extending over ten years.
To-dav I cannot speak of it with the same confidence.
360 LIFE AND TIMES OF
Then the construction of the Pacific Railway \vas under
regulations that confined and limited the liabilities of the
Dominion to $30,000,000. To-day I am not in a position
to say what expenditure or responsibilities we may have
to incur with reference to that great undertaking. There
has been a change in the policy, but it will become the
duty of the Government and of Parliament to consider,
while we have not reached the limit of our liabilities,
whether we cannot construct that great work, with
200,000,000 acres of land lying within the wheat area of
that magnificent country. Then, Sir, I could point with
pride and with satisfaction to the increased capital of
our banks and the large dividends they paid. To-day, I
regret to say, that we must point to depreciated values
and to small dividends. Then 1 could point to the gen-
eral prosperity of the country. To-day we must 'all admit
that it is greatly depressed. Then I could point with
satisfaction to the various manufacturing industries that
were in operation throughout the length and breadth of
the Dominion, remunerative to the men who had invested
their capital in them, and giving employment to tens of
thousands. To-day many of the furnaces are cold, the
machinery in many cases is idle, and those establishments
that are in operation are only employed half time, and
are scarcely paying the interest on the money invested.
Then, Sir, we could point to the agricultural interest as
most prosperous, with a satisfactory home market and
satisfactory prices abroad. To-day they have a limited
market, with low prices and anything but a satisfactory
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 361
market abroad. Then, Sir, we could point to a very
valuable and extensive West India trade ; to-day it does
not exist. Then, Sir, we could point to a profitable and
direct tea trade, that has been demoralized arid destroyed.
Then everything appeared to be prosperous ; to-day, though
it looks gloomy, I hope there is a silver lining to the
cloud, that we may yet see illuminating the whole of the
Dominion and changing our present position to one of
happiness and prosperity. Mr. Chairman, there has been,
and very naturally so, a good deal of interest and anxiety
manifested on the part of the friends of the National
Policy, as it is called, in regard to its early introduction.
I can quite understand that, because, believing as they do,
and as a majority of this House do, that that policy is
calculated to bring prosperity to the country, it was but
natural that they should be anxious for its introduction,
and that not a day should be lost. And it is satisfactory
to know that, great and difficult as is the responsibility
which rests upon me here, I trust that the propositions I
am about to make will be sustained, not only by a majority
of this House, but by an overwhelming majority in the
country.
" I can appeal to other finance ministers, and especially
to my predecessor, who, in 1874, made several changes
in the tariff of that day, to speak of the difficulties there
are in making even as few changes as were then made.
But if we undertake, as the present Government have
undertaken, to readjust and reorganize and, 1 may say,
make an entirely new tariff, having for its object not only
362 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the realization of $2,000,000 more revenue than will be
collected this year, but, in addition to providing for that
deficiency, to adjust that policy, or that tariff with a view
of making what has been, and is to-day, declared the
policy of the majority of this House I mean the pro-
tection of the industries of the country the magnitude
of the undertaking will be the better appreciated. Sir,
we have invited gentlemen from all parts of the Dominion,
and representing all the interests in the Dominion, to assist
us in the readjustment of the tariff, because we did not
feel, though perhaps we possess an average intelligence in
ordinary Government matters, we did not feel that we
knew everything. We did not feel that we were prepared,
without advice and assistance from men of experience
with reference to these matters, to readjust and make a
judicious tariff. We, therefore, invited those who were
interested in the general interests of the country, or
interested in any special interests. Gentlemen who took
an opposite view, met us and discussed these questions,
and I may say that, down to as late a period as yesterday,
though the propositions are submitted to-day, we were
favored with the co-operation and opinions of gentlemen
who represent their particular or general views with
reference to the great questions we have under considera-
tion. We have labored zealously and arduously, and I
trust it will be found successfully, and we are now about
to submit our views for the consideration of this House.
" In my opening remarks, I referred to the difficulty
with which we have to grapple. We must, if we meet
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 363
the expenditure of next year, our interest, the charges
upon our revenue, and tlie necessary expenditure which
the country has a right to expect, ask from this House
the authority to receive a revenue from the customs of
$2,000,000 more than received this year. We have also,
in arranging for the levying of that duty, to consider how
it can best be imposed to encourage the industries of the
country. It would be well, before I enter upon the con-
sideration of this point of the question, to ask ourselves
what are the circumstances that have led to the reduction
of revenue and to the present depressed condition of the
country. With reference to the reduction of the revenue,
I have heard it remarked that it is strange that the
reduction of the revenues of late years has been so great.
Perhaps there is as much prosperity here as in many
other parts of the world ; then why was there such a
falling off in our revenue compared with the revenues of
the United States and Great Britain ? When we examine
the case, we ascertain the fact that nearly all the revenue
of the United States is from specific duties, and, therefore,
the decrease in the value of imports does not, in that
country materially affect the revenue, whereas in the
Dominion the duties are principally ad valorem, and,
therefore, largely affected by the decrease in the value of
goods imported. It is established by comparative state-
ments that the goods imported into the Dominion have
decreased in value to the extent of 33 to -40 per cent.,
and the duties on those imports, being levied largely on
the ad valorem principle, there has been a falling off in
364 LIFE AND TIMES OF
the revenues of the Dominion in a corresponding propor-
tion. In the propositions I am about to make it will be
shown and I state this fact in order that the House
may perfectly understand the nature and extent of those
propositions that on many articles on which we propose
an increase of duty, 25 per cent, levied on the value
will not bring more per yard than we received on a 15
per cent, tariff in 1873. We will, by way of illustration,
take 100 yards of cloth, valued in 1873 at SI a yard,
the duty collected on it would have been $15. The same
cloth is worth now but 60c. per yard, and it would
require a tariff of 25 per cent, to produce the amount of
revenue received from the same quantity in 1873. It is
important to bear this fact in mind, because, while it may
be thought on the other side of the Atlantic, and by our
neighbors, that we are increasing largely our taxation,
and imposing increased duties on the products of other
countries, it is well to make it understood that, if our
duties had been specific, we would have been receiving
the same amount of revenue as in 1873. There are
other difficulties ; the volume of imports has not much
diminished. Regarding the matter as I do, I think it is
to be regretted that the volume of imports has not been
materially reduced. I look upon the large imports, ever
since the Dominion was organized, showing a large bal-
ance of trade against it, as one of the causes of the
troubles with which we have to contend one of the
difficulties that it is our duty, if possible, to remedy.
They have been decreasing to a certain extent, but are
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 365
still very large, showing distinctly and clearly, in my
judgment, that they ought still to be further diminished.
I know there are honorable gentlemen here and elsewhere
who entertain the opinion that the balance between the
imports and exports is not a correct mode of judging of
the condition of a country. I know that opinion is
entertained by honorable gentlemen opposite. But let
us, just for a few moments, turn our attention to the con-
dition which England occupies to-day, as compared with
the United States. From 1867 to 1873, the balance of
trade against England amounted, in the average, to
50,000,000 sterling. It is quite true that difference was
met by interest, the returns from her vessels, and in
various ways, to an extent largely counterbalancing it, or
leaving a balance in favor of England. By the last return
I have, which covers the year 1877, the balance of trade
against her is shown to be 140,000,000 sterling, or
$700,000,000 per year. The balance of trade against the
United States in 1872 was $116,000,000 ; in 1873 it was
reduced to $66,000,000 ; but last calendar year showed
that the balance in favor of the United States had reached
8300,000,000 a year. I think, then, without entering
into a discussion here of Free Trade and Protection, so
far as it affects England and the United States, we may
fairly conclude that the prosperity of the one country, at
this moment, is caused in a great measure by the large
surplus in its favor, and the depression in the other by the
large deficiency. Under these circumstances, it appears
to me, we should turn our attention to the best means of
36H LIFE AND TIMES OF
reducing the volume of our imports from all parts of the
world. Let me refer to some circumstances that led to
the present depression in the revenue. During and after
the war in the United States, it is well understood that
the country lost a large portion of its export trade, and
its manufacturing industries had been to a certain extent
paralyzed, and it was only about 1872 or 1873 that they
really commenced to restore their manufacturing indus-
tries and endeavoured to find an extended market elsewhere
for the manufactures of their country. Lying, as we do.
alongside that great country, we are looked upon as a
desirable market for their surplus products, and our
American neighbors, always competent to judge of their
own interests, and act wisely in regard to them, put forth
every effort to obtain access to our market. It is well
known by the term slaughter market what they have been
doing for the last four or five years in Canada ; that in
order to find an outlet for their surplus manufactures they
have been willing to send them into this country at any
price that would be a little below that of the Canadian
manufacturer. It is well known also that they have had
their agents in every part of the Dominion seeking
purchasers for their surplus, and that those agents have
been enabled, under our existing laws, to enter those goods
at a price, much lower than they ought to have paid,
which was their value in the place of purchase. It is
well known, moreover, that the United States Government,
in order to encourage special interests in the country,
granted a bounty upon certain manufactures, and gave to
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 367
them the exclusive market of the Dominion, and, under
those circumstances, we have lost a very important trade,
possessed previous to 1873, in addition to the loss of the
West India trade, and by the repeal of the 10 per cent,
duty on tea, we lost the direct tea trade, and all the
advantages resulting from it, by its transfer from the
Dominion to New York and Boston. Under all those
circumstances, and with the high duty imposed by the
United States on the agricultural products of the Domin-
ion, by which we are, to a great extent, excluded from
them, while the manufactures of that country are forced
into our market, we could not expect prosperity or success
in the Dominion, so long as that state of things continued.
These are some of the difficulties which have led to our
present state of affairs. Now, after having made these
few remarks on that head, I desire to call the attention of
the House to the remedy. I know this is a difficult
question that it is the opinion of some honorable
members, that no matter what proposition you may make,
or what legislation you introduce, it cannot improve or
increase the prosperity of the country. The Government
entertain a different opinion. I may say, at the outset, it
would have been much more agreeable if we could have
met the House without the necessity of increased tax-
ation. But in the imposition of the duties we are now
about to ask the House to impose, it may be said we will
receive from the imports from foreign countries a larger
portion of the $2,000,000 we require than we will receive
from the Mother Country. I believe such will be the
368 LIFE AND TIMES OF
effect, but I think that in making such a statement to
this House, belonging, as we do, to and forming a part of
that great country a country that receives our natural
products without any taxation; everything we have to
send to her apart from our national feelings, I think
this House will not object if, in the propositions before
me, they touch more heavily the imports from foreign
countries than from our Fatherland. I have this to say
to our American friends: In ]865 they abrogated the
Reciprocity Treaty, and from that day to the present a
large portion of the imports from that country into the
Dominion have been admitted free. We have hoped, but
hoped in vain, that by the adoption of that policy we
would lead our American friends to treat us in a more
liberal spirit with regard to the same articles. Well,
after having waited twelve years for the consideration of
this subject, the Government requiring more revenue,
have determined to ask this House to impose upon the
products of the United States that have been free, such a
duty as may seem consistent with our position. But the
Government couple with the proposal, in order to shew
that we approach this question with no unfriendly spirit,
a resolution that will be laid on the table containing a
proposition to this effect : That, as to the articles named,
which are the natural products of the country, including
lumber, if the United States take off the duties in part or
whole, we are prepared to meet them with equal conces-
sions. The Government believe in a reciprocity tariff, yet
may discuss Free Trade or Protection, but the question of
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 369
to-day is : Shall we have a reciprocity tariff, or a one-sided
tariff?
" We found, Sir, as I stated before, that it was important
to encourage the exportation of our manufactures to
foreign countries, and we are prepared now to say that
the policy of the Government is to give every manufac-
turer in the Dominion of Canada a drawback on the
duties they may pay upon goods used in the manufactures
of the Dominion exported. We found also. Sir, that
under the bounty system of some foreign countries, our
sugar-refining trade, and other interests, were materially
affected. Well, Sir, the Government have decided to ask
this House to impose countervailing duties und,er such
circumstances. I trust that this proposition will receive
the support of both sides of the House, because some
six months since, when the deputation of sugar refiners
in London waited upon Mr. Gladstone and Sir Stafford
Xorthcote, both of them being gentlemen representing
free-trade views, they declared, in the most emphatic
terms, that when a Government came in and interfered
with the legitimate trade of the country they were pre-
pared to impose countervailing duties. To make this
matter plain, and place it beyond dispute, the Govern-
ment propose to ask the House for authority ty collect on
all such articles an ad valorem duty on their value,
irrespective of drawbacks. My colleagues say, explain it.
For instance, a cent and a quarter drawback per pound is
granted on cut nails exported to the Dominion of Canada ;
the duty will be calculated on the value of the nails,
x
370 LIFE AND TIMES OF
irrespective of the drawback. Now a bounty is given
on sugar in excess of that which is paid by the sugar
refiners ; the Government will exact an ad valorem, duty
on the value of that sugar, irrespective of the drawback.
I may also state, Mr. Chairman, that another reason
why, I think, our American neighbors should not object to
the imposition of the duties we propose is this : It is a
fact, though not generally known, that the average per-
centage of revenue that is imposed on all imports into
the Dominion of Canada, at the present time, taking the
returns for last year as our criterion, is 13f per cent, the
amount of duty collected on the imports from Great
Britain, is a fraction under 17| per cent.; while the
amount of duty collected on the imports from the United
States is a fraction under 10 per cent. If our friends
across the border will not give us the Eeciprocity Treaty
again, they cannot find anything to object to in the
imposition of those duties, if it bears a little more heavily
on the articles imported from that country than they
desire."
Sir Leonard Tilley's speech in introducing the new
tariff was well received, and made a strong impression
upon those who heard it. It was admitted, even by
those who were opposed to the views he held, that he
showed a great mastery of the details, and that he
illustrated in a very clear manner the views of those who
maintained that the country was suffering because the
duties imposed upon foreign goods were not sufficiently
high to protect Canadian manufactures. For nearly
SIR LEONARD T1LLEY. 371
eighteen years this tariff has been in force, and every
man in Canada has had liberty to judge for himself as to
how far it has answered the expectations of those who
framed it. Certainly a trial of such length of one
particular system ought to have supplied some criterion
by which to test its value, and to enable the public to
judge how far it has been advantageous to the country.
The result of the recent Dominion elections would
seem to indicate that public opinion in Canada is not by
any means decided as to the value of the National Policy.
It is not the intention of this volume to deal to any full
extent with the career of Sir Leonard Tilley during his
second term of office as Minister of Finance of Canada.
To enter into that phase of his career would be to relate
the history of Canada, for he was but one member of the
government, and not its leader. It admitted, however,
that in respect to all financial questions Sir Leonard
showed the same ability that had characterized his career
during his previous term of office, and he was looked
upon by his colleagues as a man in whose judgment the
utmost confidence could be placed. At this time, how-
ever, his health began to fail, and the disease, which
finally carried him off, developed itself to such an extent
that he was told he must cease all active work or his days
would be shortened. Under these circumstances, it
became necessary for him to retire from the severe duties
of his very responsible and laborious office, and on the
31st day of October, 1885, he was again appointed
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, an office which
372 LIFE AND TIMES OF
he had filled with so much acceptance between 1873 and
1878. Sir Leonard Tilley continued Lieutenant Governor
during a second term, for almost eight years, or until the
appointment of Hon. John Boyd to that position.
Sir Leonard Tilley was Lieutenant Governor of New
Brunswick for considerably more than twelve years, a
record which is not likely to be equalled by any future
Lieutenant Governor for many years to come, if ever.
There was no event of particular importance to dis-
tinguish Sir Leonard Tilley's second term as Lieutenant
Governor. Hon. Mr. Blair remained Premier of New
Brunswick during the whole period, and there was no
political crisis of any importance to alter the complexion
of affairs. The only event in connection with the
Governorship, which is worthy of being mentioned, is the
change that was made by the abandonment of the old
Government house at Fredericton as the residence of
the Lieutenant Governor. This building had become
antiquated, and in other ways unsuitable for the occupa-
tion of a Lieutenant Governor, and its maintenance
involved a very large expenditure annually, which the
province was unable to afford. It was therefore
determined that in future the Lieutenant Gevernor should
provide his own residence, and that the amount expended
on Government House annually should be saved. Sir
Leonard Tilley built a residence in St. John, in which he
lived for the remainder of his life, and the seat of govern-
ment, so far as his presence was concerned, was transferred
to that city. Sir Leonard Tilley was always on the most
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 373
cordial terms with the various premiers who administered
the government of New Brunswick during his terms of
office. His relations with the Hon. Mr. Blair were
particularly friendly, and during the whole period of
almost eight years in which they were associated
not the slightest difficulty ever arose between them. Sir
Leonard Tilley knew well the strict constitutional limits
of his office, and was always careful to confine his activi-
ties within their proper scope. The lessons of responsible
government which he had learned in his early youth, and
which had been the study of his manhood, enabled him
to avoid those pitfalls which beset the steps of imported
Lieutenant Governors, who imagine that their official
position gives them an authority to which they were not
entitled. One of the most beneficial changes which
Confederation brought to the Provinces of Canada was
the making of Canadians Lieutenant Governors of these
Provinces, and thereby avoiding those difficulties which
had been so frequent and constant in an earlier period
of their history, when military officers, without any
experience of civil government, were sent out to administer
the affairs of these colonies. .
During Sir Leonard Tilley's last term of office, and
after its close, he abstained wholly from any interference
with public affairs in the Dominion, and although he still
remained steadfastly attached to the Liberal-Conservative
party, he gave no outward sign of his desire for their
success. This neutral position which he assumed in
political matters had the effect of drawing towards him
374 LIFE AND TIMES OF
thousands of his fellow-countrymen who, in former
years, had been accustomed to regard him with unfriendly
feelings. They forgot the active political leader, and saw
only before them the aged governor, whose venerable
figure and kindly face were so familiar at social or other
gatherings, or whenever a good work was to be done for
any good cause. In this way Sir Leonard Tilley grew to
assume a new character in the public estimation, and at
the time of his death the regret was as great on the part
of those who had been his political opponents as among
those who had been his associates in political warfare.
This was one of the most pleasing features of his declining
years, and one that gave him the greatest satisfaction,
because it enabled him to feel that he enjoyed the affec-
tionate regard of the whole body of the people.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 375
CHAPTER XIII.
Sir Leonard Tilley for many years had suffered from
an incurable disease, which had been mitigated by rest
and medical treatment, but not removed. It was the
knowledge of the fact that his life would be shortened if
he continued in active political life that compelled him
to leave the government in 1885. For many years before
his death the malady had been so far subdued that it gave
him comparatively little trouble, but any unusual exer-
tion on his part was almost certain to arouse it again to
activity, so that he was prevented on many occasions
from taking part in public functions, which, under other
circumstances, he would have been glad to attend. Still he
always contrived to take his daily walk, and few who saw
him ever suspected that he was constantly menanced by
death. For three or four years before his decease his
strength had been failing, he stooped more as he walked,
and it was evident that he was not destined to enjoy
many years more of life. Yet during the spring of 1896
there was nothing whatever to indicate that the end was
so near, for he went about as usual, and was able to pre-
side at the annual meeting of the Loyalist Society, which
was held during the last week in May. On that evening
he appeared very bright and cheerful, and he entered
376 LIFE AND TIMES OF
with much interest into the discussion of the details of
an outing which it was proposed the society should hold
during the summer. Man proposes, God Disposes. Sir
Leonard had gone to Rothesay early in June to spend a
few weeks in that pleasant spot, and he appeared to be
in his usual health until the night of the 10th of June,
when he began to suffer great pain from a slight cut
which he received in the foot. The symptoms became
alarming and gave indications of blood poisoning, a condi-
tion due to the disease from which he had suffered so
many years. On the llth of June he was taken to Carleton
House, his town residence, and from that time the doctors
gave no hope of his recovery. It was one of the sad
features of his illness that his life-long friend, and
physician for many years, Dr. William Bayard, was unable
to attend him, being himself confined to his bed by illness.
After Sir Leonard Tilley reached his home in St. John
he never rallied, and he was well aware that his end was
near. He was attended by Dr. Inches and Dr. Murray
McLaren, but he was beyond medical aid, and therefore
the people of St. John, for several days before the event
took place, were aware that their foremost citizen was
dying. The time was one of great excitement, for the
general election was near, yet the eyes of thousands were
turned, from the moving panorama of active life which
passed before them, to the silent chamber where the
dying statesman was breathing his last. The regret and
sympathy that was expressed were universal, and those
who had been his life-long political opponents were not
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 377
behind those who had been his friends in their kindly
words.
Sir Leonard Tilley died at 3 o'clock on the morning of
the 25th of June, and the second day after the general
election, which brought about the defeat of the party
with which he had been so long identified. One who
watched by his bedside during his last hours, and who
was present when he passed away, has furnished the
following account of the event which brought so much
sorrow to such a wide circle of friends :
" The last days of this great and good man were peace-
ful and full of faith. One of the last wishes he
expressed was that a plain tomb-stone should be erected
to his memory with the words inscribed : ' His trust was
in Jesus,' so that passers by might be helped in their
earthly pilgrimage. He desired them to know that this
had been the true sourca of his success, the power that
had influenced bis life.
" There was something pathetic in the thought that, as
his life was calmly passing away, the party that he dearly
loved was going out as well. Through all the day of the
election he watched the hours, waiting anxiously to know
the result of the contest. When he was told only of the
result in New Brunswick the dying statesman said, ' I can
go to sleep now, New Brunswick has done well.' He
went to sleep without hearing of the defeat of his party
throughout the country. But he was a man who always
recognized ability outside of party. He was always
looking for the good and noble in human nature, and if
378 LIFE AND TIMES OF
there was any chance of bringing the possessors of those
qualities to the front, he desired that it should be done.
The secret of his life was that he loved his God and his
country. He always said he owed so much of his success
to his good mother's teachings. In his earliest days he
was much with her, and he always had great admiration
for her strong character. She was a woman greatly
respected and esteemed in the neighborhood in which she
resided ; ever ready to help others in sickness or distress,
and her services were much called into requisition upon
all occasions. Her patient example was ever an incentive
to him in his career, and when the end came it might be
compared to a ship under full sail, the voyage over, with
its storms all passed, quietly gliding into harbor, its pilot
on board and the glory of the celestial city beaming
before eyes that had looked long for it. We cannot see
beyond the veil, but we know that he has entered
into his reward."
The death of Sir Leonard Tilley evoked expressions of
sympathy and regret from all parts of the empire and
from many states of the union. The letters and tele-
grams of condolence which Lady Tilley received during
the first days of her widowhood would of themselves fill
a volume, showing how widely he was known and
respected.
The funeral, which took place on the Saturday following
his death, was one of the largest ever seen in St. John,
and was attended by the Board of Trade, the Loyalist
Society, the various temperance organizations, the mem-
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 379
bers of the Provincial Government, and a vast concourse
of prominent citizens. The services took place at St.
John's Episcopal Church, and were conducted by the
rector, the Kev. John deSoyres, assisted by the Kev.
E. P. McKim, rector of St. Luke's church, with which
Sir Leonard had been identified in his earlier years. The
interment took place in the Rural Cemetery.
Many references from the pulpits of St. John and
the province were made on the Sunday following his
death, and all the newspapers had long notices of the
event and editorials on his life and character. The
St. John Telegraph, which had been politically opposed
to Sir Leonard Tilley for more than twenty years, said :
" By the death of Sir Leonard Tilley, the Province of
New Brunswick loses its most famous son, a man whose
political career extended over a longer period and who
was more successful in political life than any other states-
man that this province has produced, and one whose
death will be learned with regret, not only by thousands
of attached friends, but by tens of thousands who never
saw his face, but who looked upon him as their political
leader and guide. Although Sir Leonard Tilley had been
retired from active politics for more than ten years prior
to his death, we are perhaps too 'near the time when he
was a great political leader, to justly estimate his merits.
Few people are able so far to separate themselves from
their prejudices as to honestly criticise a friend or do full
justice to an opponent, so that there must always be in
contemporary opinions an element of weakness ; yet, we
380 LIFE AND TIMES OF
believe that the general view of the public will agree
with us in expressing the belief that Sir Leonard Tilley
was a man of high character, and of scrupulous honesty,
an honor to the land which gave him birth, and one who
had done much good for Canada.
u Sir Leonard Tilley, by birth, came from the bluest
blood of New England, for he was" a descendant of one of
the Mayflower pilgrims, but he owed nothing of his suc-
cess in life to this fact, and fortune showered no favors
upon his birth. A boy who, at the age of 13, has to leave
home, as he did, with an unfinished education, to seek his
living in a strange city, may fairly claim to have been
the architect of whatever fortune he succeeds in rearing
for himself. Sir Leonard was emphatically a self-made
man, and he would have been a leading citizen and an
honored and influential member of this community, if he
had never been elected to the legislature or to parliament,
and never made a political speech. Under such circum-
stances his great qualities would have developed them-
selves along different lines, but they would have led him
to fortune and to high consideration if not to as great a
degree of fame as that to which he attained. As it was,
he found himself forced into political life, almost without
his own consent, and the new path into which his steps
were thus so strangely directed led him to the highest
honors his country could give, making him the leader of
the government of New Brunswick, a cabinet minister of
Canada, twice Lieutenant Governor of his native province,
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 881
a Companion of the Balh, and a Knight Commander of
St. Michael and St. George.
" It is just 46 years since Sir Leonard Tilley gained his
first step in political life by being elected one of the
members for the City of St. John, and it was as a
representative of this city in the legislature of New
Brunswick and in the parliament of Canada that he
gained his fame. He represented this city in five differ-
ent legislatures and in four parliaments, his legislative
career covered a period of 25 years, during practically
the whole of which he was in office as a member ol the
Provincial or Dominion Government. For thirteen years
he was Lieutenant Governor, so that his official career
extended over forty years, during the whole of which
he was in positions of the highest responsibility and
honor. Such a term of prosperous political life has
had no parallel in Canada, and it is not likely that any
public man now in Canada will be able to equal it.
" Yet it would be a mistake to suppose that Sir Leonard
Tilley's public life was all sunshine, or that he did not
experience serious reverses. He was connected with
three great political conflicts the battle for prohibition,
the struggle for Confederation and the fight for the
National Policy. In the first of these he was defeated,
in the second, although at first worsted, he eventually
succeeded, while as regards the third he was a victor at
the beginning, but lived to learn of the defeat of the
policy which he had labored to promote. There is surely
something pathetic in the thought that on the 23rd of
382 LIFE AND TIMES OF
June, while the voters of Canada were depositing their
ballots against the government, and recording their con-
demnation of the National Policy, the statesman who did
the most to create that policy was on his death bed, his
life slowly ebbing away and nearing the margin of the
dark dread river which all must cross.
" Mr. Tilley's connection with the temperance move-
ment naturally made him the champion of prohibition,
and led to his passing a prohibitory liquor law during the
legislative session of 1855. The law worked badly and
a political crisis followed, for the Lieutenant Governor
dissolved the House of Assembly, against the wishes of
Mr. Tilley and the other members of the government,
who at once resigned. In the elections which followed
in the summer of 1856, Mr. Tilley suffered his first
defeat, but a year later he was re-elected by his old
constituency, and became the leader of a new goVern-
ment. The prohibition question dropped out of sight and
he suffered no further reverses until 1865, when he and
his government were defeated on the question of Con-
federation. A little more than a year later this adverse
verdict was reversed, and Mr. Tilley became the leader of
a government authorized to carry out the scheme of
union between New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Canada.
" It is on this phase of the deceased statesman's career
that his friends can look back with the most satisfaction.
With respect to the prohibition question he was in
advance of his time, in respect to the protective system,
known as the National Policy, he was behind the spirit
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 383
of the age, for the attempt to make a country prosperous
by a high tariff wall is an exploded fallacy. But with
regard to Confederation the stand that he took was the
correct one, for although Confederation has not done for
us all that was claimed for it, it was a necessity, and it
was the part of an enlightened statesman to do all in his
power to promote it.
" There have been many criticisms of Sir Leonard Tilley
on the score of his long tenure of office and the high
salaries attached to the positions which he filled. It
ought, however, to be understood that he was a well-to-do
man, and the owner of a large amount of property before
he entered political life, and it may be safely said that he
would have died a much richer man if he had continued
to attend to his own private affairs, rather than those of
the province and dominion. Indeed, Sir Leonard Tilley
was a first-class man of business, and this was one of the
main elements of his success. He was essentially a man
of affairs, and during the whole of his political life he
was looked upon as a safe adviser by his party and as
one pre-eminently qualified to conduct the financial
business of the country.
" It is difficult to gauge accurately the exact position
which Sir Leonard Tilley might have held as a statesman
had the opportunity come to him. Sir John A. Macdoiiald
overshadowed all his colleagues during his life-time, and
prevented them from showing to the full extent their
capacity for leadership. Still we have no doubt that the
deceased had in him the making of an excellent premier,
384 LIFE AND TIMES OF
one who would have inspired the public with confidence,
and ventured on no scheme which he regarded as danger-
ous. He was an excellent speaker, clear, forcible and
convincing, and there was much in his voice and manner
to attract an audience. His lucid exposition of financial
questions was a strong point in his career as a public man,,
and gave his speeches a character of their own.
" It is greatly to the honor of Sir Leonard Tilley that no
scandal public or private was ever attached to his name.
A consistent temperance man to the end of his life, he
was faithful to the cause which he had espoused when he
was young, and he enjoyed the confidence and received
the steady support of a vast majority of the tem-
perance men of the province, who looked upon him as
their natural leader. His capacity for friendship was
great and his friends might be numbered by thousands,
for he had a peculiar faculty of strongly attracting men
to himself. This may be ascribed in part to the magnet-
ism of a buoyant and strong nature, but it was more
largely due to the extreme simplicity of his character,,
which remained wholly unspoiled by the favors which
fortune had showered upon him. No man, however
humble, had any difficulty in obtaining an interview with
Sir Leonard Tilley, he was every inch a gentleman, and
was, therefore, as polite to the poorest laborer as to the
richest in the land. Such a man could not fail to be
loved even by those who had been his most bitter oppon-
ents in former years, when he was in active political life.
When Sir Leonard Tilley began his public career
political conflicts were conducted with a degree of personal
SIR LEONARD T1LLEY. 385
acrimony which is wholly unknown at the present day.
There was a bitterness injected into election campaigns
which does not now exist. In his time he received and
gave many hard blows, and many hard things were said
of him. But for several years past Sir Leonard Tilley
enjoyed the affectionate regard of thousands of those who
have been his political opponents. He had a pleasant
word and a kindly smile for all, and he passed before the
eyes of man as one deserving of the highest honor for his.
unsullied character, and for the services which lie had
rendered to his country.
" It is one of the drawbacks of this human life that
the wise, the learned, the good, and those whom we most
love and honor grow old and feeble, fall by the wayside
and pass away. So while we lament the death of Sir
Leonard Tilley, we must recognize it as an event that was
inevitable, and which could not long have been postponed.
His life work was done ; his labors were ended ; his active
and brilliant career was closed ; he was but waiting for
that dread summons which sooner or later must come to
all. The summons has come and he has gone from among
us for ever. His venerable, noble face will no longer be
seen on our streets, his kindly greeting will no longer be
heard. But his memory will live, not ony in the hearts of
all his countrymen, but enshrined in the history of this
his native province, and of the great dominion which he
did so much to create, and which he so fondly loved."
The St. John Sun, in commenting on his death, said :
" While Sir Leonard Tilley had a large part in all the
Y
386 LIFE AND TIMES OF
public events of his time, his name will be associated
with three or four ' striking chapters of British American
history.
" Sir Leonard was hardly one of the chief actors in the
establishment of responsible government in this province.
But the conflict was not settled when he became a prom-
inent member of the assembly, and he afterwards did his
part in securing full control for the representatives of the
people.
" Sir Leonard will be remembered as the chief pro-
moter of the only general prohibitory liquor law which
has yet been adopted by any organized British colony in
America. This law was almost the first achievement of
the young legislator. It was hastily enacted at a time
when similar legislation was passed in New England.
The system was swept away a few months later, carrying
the Tilley government, and Mr. Tilley's seat with it.
Had the government taken more care to provide the
machinery for enforcement, or the people and the governor
given the experiment a more thorough test, the public of
to-day might have been able to build a safer argument on
this piece of history. Sir Leonard never wavered in his
temperance principles, but thirty years after he introduced
prohibition in this province, he told the house of com-
mons that he would never again support prohibitory
legislation unless he saw a way to its satisfactory enforce-
ment.
" While the events mentioned were incidents in the
history of a province, Sir Leonard's share in the great
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 387
work of Confederation presents him as a statesman of a
more imperial quality. The province, like Nova Scotia,
had not been educated up to the idea of a British
American union. There was a natural reluctance to
surrender local autonomy, and the mass of the people
could not realize the higher possibilities that union
involved. Sir Leonard returned from the Quebec confer-
ence to find public sentiment against the project. He
and his government were defeated. But with the help
of Mr. Mitchell and other confederates he set to work
arguing the case all over the province. One year of such
work gave him a mandate of the people to go forward.
Sir Leonard was one of those who drafted the financial
part of the union scheme. After the union, when Nova
Scotia was in the throes of a wild agitation for repeal,
Sir Leonard Tilley, as the old friend and comrade of Mr.
Howe, was the intermediary who prepared for the meeting
of Mr. Howe and Premier Macdonald of the dominion.
The result of the negotiations was a re-adjustment of the
financial terms and the acceptance by Mr. Howe of a
place in Sir John Macdonald's cabinet. Sir Leonard is
almost the last of the fathers who met in London to
complete the work of the conference. He leaves only
four survivors of the Westminster gathering.
" In the organization of the dominion Sir Leonard Tilley
was one of the chiefs. In the preparation and perfecting
of the National Policy he was the chief. As finance
minister it was his duty to prepare, submit, defend and
operate the National Policy tariff. While the policy was
388 LIFE AND TIMES OF
introduced as a Canadian system in 1879, it is interesting
to note that just 30 years before this time, Mr. Tilley,
then making his first appearance as a factor 'in New
Brunswick politics, came forward as an advocate of tariff
protection to local industries. Two years later, when he
became a member of the assembly, he voted for protective
duties, and when after his brief retirement he came to-
the front in 1854 as a minister, he brought in a schedule
of duties with a distinctly protective tendency. New
Brunswick was a small community with a limited indus-
trial range, and the scope of the system was much nar-
rower than that adopted in 1879 for the whole dominion.
Sir Leonard's business experience, habits of personal
investigation, great industry, almost limitless patience r
and above all, his saving common sense and freedom
from purely speculative theories, qualified him for the
great task of revolutionizing the whole system of Canadian
customs duties.
" Mention should be made of Sir Leonard's share in
railway development. This also takes us back to the
beginning of his career, for he was one of the promoters
of our first railway, before he was elected to the
assembly. As provincial secretary he was in England
with Mr. Howe on railway business long before confed-
eration. If St. John was tardy in forgiving him for
allowing the Intercolonial to be constructed by the North
Shore route, that was because St. John does not always
see the difficulties that stand in the way of her repre-
sentatives. It would hardly have been wise for Sir
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 389
Leonard to retire from public life because he was unable
to control three-fourths of his colleagues, backed up by
the whole imperial government. A quarter of a century
has brought many changes, including a railway by a
shorter route to the west than any that were then dreamed
of, and another by the route that St. John first favored.
The St. John representative who dared to think that a
railway might be constructed from this city to Shediac,
lived to promote the railway connection of the two great
oceans by a line across the continent."
The St. John Gazette, <on the eve of his death, said :
"There is dying in St. John to-day a man, who more
than any other in the province, has filled the public eye
for the past half a century. That man is Sir Leonard
Tilley, twice governor of the province, for many years a
member of the privy council of Canada, filling the most
important offices in the Dominion, and prior to that a
member of the council of New Brunswick. Sir Leonard
Tilley was a farmer's son. Born in Gagetown, he came
to this city, served an apprenticeship as a druggist, and
when a comparatively young man was started in public
life, more by the wish of his friends than from any desire
of his own. When Sir Leonard Tilley entered upon his
political career, the province was without railroads, and
struggling for responsible government. The part taken
by Sir Leonard Tilley in the struggle for responsible
government is one that every son of New Brunswick and
every true friend of government by the people should
remember him, and no man played a more important part
390 LIFE AND TIMES OF
in the railroad building epoch of the country than did
Sir Leonard Tilley. It was a gigantic enterprise which
the government of New Brunswick undertook in those
days, when the European & North American" railroad was
started. The line was not very long, but railroads cost
very much more to build per mile than they do now. Sir
Leonard has lived to witness the completion of the line
through Canadian territory from ocean to ocean. Where
the journey to Montreal by land was a most difficult one>
a tourist can now board the train at North Sydney, the
most easterly point of Nova Scotia, and ride on practically
without leaving the train until he reaches Vancouver, on
the shores of the Pacific. In the Confederation struggle
which united the four separate provinces of Canada, Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick, and also the Canadas into
one Dominion, Sir Leonard Tilley played a most import-
ant part. He was one of the original commissioners who
formulated the scheme, and he was also a member of the
government of the Dominion. The area covered by
Canada in 1867 was comparatively small compared with
the area of to-day. The Great Lakes formed its western
boundary, and the great northern country, which is to
supply food for the millions of Europe, was then all
unknown. In the purchase of the Hudson Bay territory
and the construction of the Canadian Pacific railroad,
through which that territory was made known to the
world, Sir Leonard Tilley was one of the chief actors.
It was he that at that time held the purse strings of
Canada, and it was his financial ability, more than that of
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 391
any other man, which pulled through this great enter-
prise, which now connects each section of the Dominion.
Failing health compelled the retirement of Sir Leonard
from active politics about ten years ago. Up to two years
ago he was governor of the province. Since then his
life has been a very tranquil one. In fine weather his
figure was a familiar one on the streets of St. John, and
to young and old whom he knew, he always had a pleas-
ant greeting. He is a man who will be greatly missed
in the community, and his place is not likely to be filled
for years to come. He has survived most of his old col-
leagues of the early days of Confederation, of whom
from the Maritime Provinces there are only now surviving
Sir Charles Tupper and the Hon. Peter Mitchell. Sir
Charles in the midst of the election, yesterday, sent a
very touching letter to his old friend and colleague."
The St. John Globe said :
" As the contest which has agitated the people for so
many weeks is closing, the sunlight falls probably on the
last days of the life of a public man of much influence
in this province. Sir Leonard Tilley's public career,
which began in 1850, ended in 1893 with his retirement
from the Governorship, a position which he had twice
filled. Since then he has lived a quiet, but by no means
inactive life in St. John. He has been interested in
business affairs and has not been wholly indifferent to
public matters, for, had his health permitted, he would
have entered upon some of the active work of the cam-
paign in the interest of the party with which he has
392 LIFE AND TIMES OF
acted since Confederation. But the feelings of favor or
disfavor with which his political views were regarded
have given way to the feeling of respect which is ever
accorded to an excellent citizen. Sir Leon'ard Tilley has
retained the warm regard of all his old political friends
and associates, while the citizens generally, the older
generation of those who fought many a battle for or with
him, the younger generation who know him not as a
politician, have been glad to see him about the streets,
enjoying the honors which he won and the respect which
all well-ordered people yield to a man who has borne his
fair share of the struggles and conflicts of life, and who
has been a victor in many things."
The St. John Record said :
" When it was announced this morning that Sir Samuel
Leonard Tilley had laid down his life and had passed
away by death the citizens felt that a great calamity had
happened this city, province and dominion. His public
career, great and brilliant as it certainly was, did not
appeal to the people so much to-day, as the great motiveu
that actuated and shone forth in his private everyday life.
* It is as a private citizen that St. John loved
him best, because then he was virtually her own as a
public man we had to divide our claim on him with all
the other provinces of Canada. When at Ottawa he was
our representative and theirs; in his home here he was
our own a lover of the city that he had done so much
to extend and benefit. So it is to this fact we allude
when we say that all looked upon his death as a calamity.
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 393
It is true that a wise man in the councils of the nation
has gone ; but this sinks to insignificance when we con-
sider that death has borne out from our midst one who
was the particular friend of all our citizens. It was
thought that having laid aside the trials and turmoils of
public duty he would have been spared for some years
yet to enjoy the harvest time of a life well lived, but it
was not to be ; but it is a consolation to know that the
man who has gone out from us was a direct contradiction
of that saying that an honest man is not to be found in
politics. His success was due to his persistent and
uncompromising perseverence. When he believed that
he was right, he allowed no danger to daunt nor difficulty
to deter his reaching the necessary and expected consum-
mation ; and this trait of his character was well exempli-
fied in busiriess as in political affairs. He went direct to
the mark, in an honest and courteous way, thus changing
opponents to supporters and enemies to friends."
CHAPTER XIV.
In the preceding chapters I have been considering the
career of Sir Leonard Tilley as a public man, a statesman,
and a man of affairs. But it would be a grave error to
suppose that the whole strength of his nature was at all
times devoted to matters of state, or that he in any way
394 LIFE A1SD TIMES OF
allowed public affairs to interfere with that home life
which is always the truest source of happiness. So far
was this from being the case that Sir Leonard Tilley was
essentially a domestic man. He was at his best in his
own study or by his own fireside. He loved his family
and his friends, and it was one of his chief delights in
his later years to gather the friends of his youth about
him and discuss with them the happy events of bygone
days. His memory was so good and his faculties so keen
that the whole picture of his life spread before him like
a panorama, and he lived it over again many times in a
mental sense. He had a wealth of ancedote in regard to
the public men whom he met in the earlier days of his
active life, and a keen sense of humor which gave point
and character to his reminiscences of those times. Once
more the actors on the stage of life of thirty or forty
years ago lived as he recalled the scenes in which
he and th^y had taken part. His eye would brighten
and his whole form become instinct with life as he related
the story of other years.
When Sir Leonard Tilley came to reside in St. John in
1888, after Carleton House, his new residence, was com-
pleted, his desire to have his old friends about him caused
him to hunt up alt the members of the old Portland
Debating Society, to which he had belonged when a young
man, and to invite them to dinner once a year. The first
dinner was attended by about fourteen persons, among
whom were the late Sheriff Harding, the late Joseph W.
Lawrence, and the late John Sears. For two or three
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 395
years their meetings were cheerful enough, but death soon
began to make inroads upon the survivors. Every year
the number of guests was smaller than it had been the
year before, and much of the conversation was of those
who had passed from earth since the last meeting.
Finally the survivors became so few that two or three
years before Sir Leonard Tilley's own death the dinner
was given up, as something better calculated to awaken
sad feelings than to give pleasure.
Sir Leonard Tilley, throughout his whole life gave
great attention to his religious duties. He was a devoted
member of the Church of England, and his attendance at
church was constant and regular. For several years
before his death he was connected with St. Mark's con-
gregation, and no cause, except severe bodily illness, was
ever allowed to prevent him from going to church on
Sunday morning. On many occasions, when hia steps
had grown feeble and his strength was failing, it was
suggested to him that he should drive to church, but h-3
always replied that he would walk to church as long as
he had strength left to do so, and that he would not have
people harnessing up horses on the Sabbath day on his
account. This resolution he maintained to the end of his
life. Sometimes, when he met an old acquaintance, as he
toiled up the street which led to his favorite church, he
would cheerfully greet him by saying, "John, this hill has
grown steeper than it used to be," but he climbed the
hill to the end, and the last Sunday he ^as able to be out
of his bed he walked to church as usual.
39H LIFE AND TIMES OF
Sir Leonard Tilley took a deep interest in all those
humane and philanthropic objects which were for the
benefit of mankind and in the great work connected
with the spread of the gospel. He was a constant at-
tendant at the annual meetings of theBritish and Foreign
Bible Society, and was a life member of that
admirable association. On a very cold night in
the winter of 1895-6 the writer met him making his way
along Germain street, and on inquiring where he was
going on such an inclement evening, found that he was on
his way to attend the meeting of the society. He had
mistaken the date, for the meeting did not take place for
a fortnight, but that he should go abroad in such weather
to be present at this annual gathering, shows how much
he was interested in its work.
The honors that Sir Leonard Tilley received from Her
Majesty, in recognition of his great public services, were
very gratifying to his friends as well as to himself, and
when he was made a Knight Commander of St. Michael
and St. George, in 1879, his temperance friends embraced
the first opportunity on his return to St. John to have a
. J O6H !
banquet in his honor, at which he wore, for the first time
in public, the insignia of the knightly order of which he
had become a member. There was probably no public
event in the whole course of his life which gave him
greater pleasure than this proof of the attachment of his
old friends.
Sir Leonard's last visit to England was marked by an
extremely gracious invitation to visit the Queen at
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 307
Osborne, in the Isle of Wight. While he and Lady Tille v
were sojourning at Cowes a message was sent sum-
moning them to Osborne House, where they were received
by Her Majesty in the beautiful grounds that surround
that palace. The Princess Louise and Princess Beatrice,
with an equerry in waiting, were the only persons pres-
ent. After an interesting conversation they were per-
mitted to visit the private apartments of Her Majesty
and the Prince Consort's farm. A remark was made by
the equerry that the honor was a very great one, as few
persons in England had the opportunity that had been
given to them that day. Of course both Sir Leonard and
Lady Tilley replied that the honor was highly appreciated
and would never be forgotten. During their stay in
London they were entertained by the Prince of Wales at
Marlborough House. These occurrences made that visit
to England a memorable one, but the foreshadowing was
already that it would be the last.
Sir Leonard Tilley was first married in 1843 to Julia
Ann. daughter of the late James T. Hanford, who died in
1862. By her he had seven children, two sous and five
daughters. His oldest son, the Rev. Harrison Tilley, who
died in 1877, was, at the time of his death, assistant
minister to the cathedral at Toronto. He had been previ-
ously rector of Grace Church, London, Ont., and had also
been rector of St. Luke's church, Portland, the church
which Sir Leonard attended when he first came to St.
John. He was a man of singularly amiable character
and -much ability, and his early death was deeply regretted
3i)8 LIFE AND TIMES OF
by the entire community, which recognized in him one
who gave great promise of future usefulness. The
other son of this marriage, Mr. L. A. Tilley, is a resident
ot Sherbrooke, 1*. Q., where he is engaged in business.
His eldest daughter, who was the wife of Mr. A. F.
Street, of Fredericton, died in 1894. The other daughters
are : Mrs. W. H. De Wolfe, of Chilliwack, B. C.j Mrs.
Thomas Burpee, of Winnipeg ; Mrs. J. 1"). Chipman, of
St. Stephen, and Miss Julia Tilley, of Toronto.
In J867, after being a widower for several years, Sir
Leonard Tilley married Alice Starr, daughter of the late
,<;*<! ^o (>I-V Po>/ wit
Z. Chipman, of St. Stephen. By this marriage he had
two sons, Mr. Herbert C. Tilley, of the Imperial Trust
Company, who resides in St. John, and Mr. L. P. DeWolfe
Tilley, barrister, who is also a resident of St. John.
These two sons, Herbert and Leonard, were the prop and
comfort of his declining years, and were devoted wholly
to him to the end.
Sir Leonard Tilley's second marriage was contracted at
the time when he was exchanging the limited field of
provincial politics for the wider sphere which Confedera-
tion opened up to him in the Parliament of Canada. It
was a fortunate union, for it gave him a helpmeet and
companion who was in full sympathy with him in all his.
hopes and feelings, and who was singularly well qualified
to preside over his household, which, in his capacity of a
minister of the crown, had become to a considerable
extent a factor in the public life of Canada. Lady Tilley
had a high ideal of her duty as the wife of a cabinet
SIR LEONARD TILLEY. 399
minister, and of the governor of New Brunswick, and
was not content to lead a merely ornamental life or con-
fine her energies within a narrow range. She saw many
deficiencies in our appliances for relieving human misery,
and she set to work, with a zeal which could not be
dampened, to seek to remedy them. The Victoria Hospital
at Fredericton is her work ; hers also is the Nurses'
Home in connection with the Public Hospital in St. John,
and the Eeformatory for the care of bad or neglected
boys, who are in danger of becoming criminals if they are
not educated and desciplined when they are young. In
every work of philanthropy Lady Tilley has always taken
not only an active, but a leading part, and her position
has enabled her to enlist in the cause of humanity the
energies of many who, under other circumstances, might
not have taken an active part in philanthropic work.
Lady Til ley kas, therefore, been not only a source of
good in herself, but a moving cause of good to others
who, but for her, might not have enjoyed the blessed
consciousness of having done something to benefit man-
kind. Carleton House, to which he removed in 1888,
and in which he died, was named after Carleton, where he
always had a strong support, and where he remained on
election days until all the returns came in with their mes-
sage of victory or defeat. Sir Leonard intended it to be
his home for the remainder of his life, but as he continued
to be governor the house was found to be too small for
the proper accommodation of those whom he wished to
entertain in his official capacity. An addition to it, con-
400 LIFE AND TIMES OF SIR LEONARD T1LLEY.
sisting of a large dining room, was consequently built.
The first persons to dine in it were the Earl and Countess
of Derby, then governor general of Canada. Afterwards
Sir John A. Macdonald and Lady Macdonald, Sir John
Thompson, and the Earl and Countess of Aberdeen and
Sir Charles and Lady Tupper were the guests of Sir
Leonard and Lady Tilley at Carleton House. Thus this
building, although still new, is already fragrant with
pleasant memories, and half a century hence it will be
one of the city's most notable landmarks, and will be
called "Old Carleton House." where Sir Leonard Tilley
lived and died.
THE END.
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